


Vitality

by AscendingDarkness



Series: Vitality-verse Extended [2]
Category: No Fandom, Original Work
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe, Aristocracy, Blood and Violence, Class Differences, College, Drama, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Family Secrets, Fantasy, Healers, Healing, Intersex, Law Enforcement, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Moral Ambiguity, Mpreg, Nobility, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Not Beta Read, Omega Verse, Protective Siblings, Rating May Change, Short Chapters, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Twins, Werewolves, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:46:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 110
Words: 39,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24768742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AscendingDarkness/pseuds/AscendingDarkness
Summary: Twin brothers Yukio and Yuliang Davos have to leave behind their peaceful lives in rural Sundan when they head to the capital.Faced with many new experiences, the twins are forced to confront many things about themselves, the world around them and each other.
Relationships: Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Series: Vitality-verse Extended [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1997368
Comments: 57
Kudos: 14





	1. A New Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> This is just something I wanted to write for fun because of all the stuff going on in the world these days. Channelling all my frustration and energy more constructively, I suppose. I don't have someone to formally proofread my work, so there might be some errors here and there, but I think it should be alright for the most part. Anyways, hope you guys enjoy it. 
> 
> ~AD

After placing the final item into his suitcase, Yuliang took a moment to take a good look at the bare bones of his bedroom.

To Yuliang's surprise, instead of the sadness that he had been anticipating, he felt determination. 

This was him, closing one chapter of his life and opening the door to the next.

There was no room for sadness or hesitation here. 

"Ready to go?" 

Yuliang glanced at his twin, who grinned at him with barely concealed excitement.

Yuliang's face shifted to mirror it, "Yeah," he said, "let's go."


	2. Leaving Mist Valley

After placing the final item into his suitcase, Yuliang took a good look at the bedroom that had been his for the last seventeen years of his life.

Boxes filled with journals and texts were neatly pushed up against a side wall to be picked up and stored later by his grandmother, who was apparently too busy with work right now even to see them off.

His bed's old wooden bed frame looked decrepit without his usual beddings to distract from its disrepair. While it looked like it was one strong gust away from collapsing, except for occasional creaks, it had never had any issue supporting twice Yuliang's weight in the past and probably will continue to do so even in the future.

Pushing down the slight twinge of melancholy he felt, Yuliang let the steady feeling of determination fill him. This was the closing of one chapter of his life and moving forth to the next.

There was no room for sadness or hesitation here.

"Ready to go?"

Yuliang glanced back at his twin, who was leaning against the frame of his door, with a bright grin that barely concealed excitement.

Yuliang's own lips twitched up in response. He took one last look around his room before nodding, "Yeah, I'm ready," he said, "let's go."


	3. A Long Train Ride I

Mist Valley was a small town near the Great Barrier mountain range that separates Sundan; Fiore's southern-region, from Medina; Fiore's central-region. The train ride from Mist Valley, Sundan to Linos, Medina, would take about a day.

Having been stuck with his brother in the enclosed space for hours, Yuliang felt like he was teetering on the brink of insanity.

"I'm going to go take a walk," he announced, firmly sliding their compartment door shut on his brother's pouting face.

Yuliang's patience for idle conversation was limited, and his tolerance for his brother's particular brand of it was currently nonexistent.

Yukio's excessive sex life was the last thing he wanted to know!

Yuliang was a few cars down the train, finally settled enough not to feel nausea and taste the bile that had risen in response to his brother's graphic description of his exploits, when a compartment door before him slammed open.

It was only Yuliang's years of experience that allowed him to react quickly and grab the shaking, hyperventilating man that burst out of it before he collapsed to the floor.

"What's wrong?" he immediately asked, scanning the distressed man for any physical signs of hurt that may have triggered this situation.

The man looked at him with terrified eyes, "Goddess, save me," he prayed. "Young man, I don't know what to do. It's my wife. She's gone into labour."

Yuliang glanced at the partially open door and then back at the man and felt his tensed muscles relax. His lips twitched up in a polite smile, "It looks like it's your lucky day, sir. I'm a licensed Healer."

The man sobbed, "You are? Oh, the goddess must truly be smiling down on me today. Thank you. Please help me, Healer; I don't care about the cost. I'll pay whatever you want. Please help me."

"What's your name, sir?"

"Anil."

"Your wife?"

"Rupa." Anil sounded a lot steadier now. His breathing slowly evening out and his shaking had reduced to the slightest of tremor.

"Wonderful. Okay, I'm going to let go of you now, alright?"

The man offered him a shaky nod and Yuliang slowly began to release his hold, only fully relaxing his grip once he was sure Anil's legs could bear weight again.

"How about we go back to your wife now and have us introduced? I'll handle the situation from there."


	4. A Long Train Ride II

There was a knock on the door.

Yuliang's hand paused in its writing, and he immediately checked on the sleeping family on the bed opposite him.

Thankfully, neither the couple nor the baby had roused from the sound.

Releasing a small sigh, Yuliang tucked his black leather journal into a pocket and quietly made his way out of the compartment.

Yuliang pressed a finger to his lips in warning as he silently slid the door shut behind himself.

"You get caught up in the craziest things, don't you, brother," Yukio murmured, amber eyes glimmering in amusement in the dim lighting of the train corridor.

Yuliang shrugged, "Not like I actively go looking. How did you find me?"

"Asked around. Doesn't take a genius to figure out who the Healer that helped a woman give birth on a train could be. How did it go?"

"No complications. The mother experienced some tearing, but that was an easy fix. Their baby girl's fine too. Just slightly premature."

A small wistful smile crossed Yukio's face. "She must have been impatient to see her mom and dad," he said. "What's her name?"

Yuliang's face maintained careful neutrality, internally grimacing, as he replied. "Yulia."

The smirk that spread across his brother's face said it all. "Yulia, hm? What a pretty name. Any particular reason for it?"

"Fuck off," Yuliang grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.

Yukio snickered.

A comfortable silence settled over them as they took a moment to bask in each other's presence and scents without physically scenting the other. After hours of smelling blood and other bodily fluids, the refreshing scent of apples that wafted over was something to be grateful for.

Eventually, the comfortable silence that had settled between them was broken by a wide yawn from Yukio, who patted Yuliang on the shoulder and said, "I'm going to go get some sleep, see you when you get back, brother. Try not to stay up all night please, we have a lot to do tomorrow, and you should be well-rested."

Yuliang only nods. He knows better than to make promises he can't keep. "Good night."


	5. A Long Train Ride III

"Book an appointment with a doctor as soon as you can. Babies are really vulnerable to a lot of stuff since their immune systems are still developing. Getting her vaccinated should be your top priority."

"Can't you do that for us?" Rupa asked, looking slightly shaken by his warning and readjusting her hold on the baby.

Yuliang shook his head, "No, I'm only a licenced Healer. I don't have the qualifications to administer vaccines."

The couple didn't seem to see his point, but they trusted in his expertise enough to do as instructed.

Yuliang checked over the mother and baby one last time to ensure their continued good health accepted the $30 he had agreed as payment for his services, and said goodbye to the couple.

Back at their shared compartment, Yukio was snoring up a storm from where he was curled up on the lower bunk.

Rolling his eyes, Yuliang plugged his phone into the charging outlet under the window compartment window, and Yuliang stumbled gracelessly up the small ladder and fell face-first onto his bed.

His head had barely made contact with the pillow when he succumbed to exhaustion.


	6. The Heart of Fiore I

Linos was a highly diverse, bustling metropolis located in the heart of Fiore's central region, Medina.

"So many more people here than I thought there'd be," Yukio said, bright amber eyes darting around taking in the sights around them as they emerged from the station's main entrance.

Yuliang came to a stop a step behind him, squinting against the glare of the bright autumn sun.

For country boys like them, even the experience within the station itself had been more than a little overwhelming.

Every single thing felt like a massive sensory overload. There were large, vibrant screens on every surface, and the sheer number of people around them was shocking to see. Unlike his hometown's natural and diverse terrain, the city was sleek, towering buildings, skyscrapers, concrete sidewalks and roads. 

It was almost painfully loud, overcrowded streets filled with mindless zombie-like pedestrians, the sound of industry and motorized vehicles. Yuliang could feel the building of a splitting headache. Getting any form of rest in such a dynamic environment was going to be a struggle, but Yuliang had always been adaptive, so he was sure he would manage somehow.

Then there was the smell. The rotten, disgusting smell of body odour, decay and burnt chemicals in the air, saturated and heavy with pollution.

Yuliang couldn't breathe. His whole world felt like it was inverting itself, as his brain tried to process all the surrounding stimuli it was being exposed to. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to inhale.

This was going to be his life for the next five to six months. There was no fucking way he was going to let it crush his spirit.

"Stop blocking the way, people are trying to get through," someone said, bumping into Yukio as he walked past them.

It was only Yuliang's reflexive grab of his brother's coat that prevented Yukio from taking a tumble headfirst down the long flight of stairs.

Yuliang saw red.

"Oi, asshole!" he called out, sliding down the bannister to catch up to the man. "The staircase was big enough for you to walk around! Did you have to push past my brother like that? Are you fucking blind?"

The asshole stopped in his tracks and looked at Yuliang incredulously. "You're talking to me?" he asked.

"Who the fuck else!" Yuliang scoffed, walking a few steps closer and glaring up at him, not at all cowed by how the man towered over him. The smell of cinnamon that suddenly invaded his senses made his thoughts come to a brief confusing halt, but he shook it off, too consumed by his anger to let it distract him.

He had been about to continue his tirade when his brother caught up and looped a hand through his arm.

Yukio laughed, trying to diffuse the tension, as he tried pulling Yuliang away from the situation. An action made more difficult by Yuliang stubbornly digging his heels onto the ground. "I think that's quite enough, brother. Sorry, er, sir, please ignore my brother's rudeness. We're just going to get going. Have a good day," his brother called out brightly over his shoulder, as Yuliang finally relented and let himself be dragged away.

The man just stood there, staring after them with a strange look on his face.

Yuliang flipped him off.

"What an asshole," he muttered. "Hope we never meet him again, or I might end up jailed for murder."

Yukio let out a nervous laugh, "Brother, please. Could you not sound so serious talking about someone's death?"

Yuliang scoffed, "Who says I'm not serious? Once an asshole, always an asshole. This world would be a better place with one less asshole polluting it."

"Wow, since when did you become so self-aware, brother."

It took Yuliang a moment to process the insult, but once he did, he shot his brother a fierce scowl.

"Fuck off, Yukio!"


	7. The Heart of Fiore II

One thing Yuliang could appreciate about the city was its convenience.

Not once did they have to wander around confused or need to ask strangers for directions since clear overhead signs were directing them to their destination.

From there, it was just a matter of finding the bus that would take them directly to the university.

Unfortunately, they were too late, and the 178 had begun driving away just as they arrived.

Fuck.

Yuliang checked the stand for the next bus time and verbally echoed his earlier sentiment.

"Fuck. Next one's in an hour!"

The twins exchanged annoyed glances, trudged into the bus stop with their luggage and slumped onto the benches.

Neither of them said anything to each other for a good while after choosing to occupy themselves with their phones instead.


	8. The Heart of Fiore III

"Excuse me, do you mind shifting a bit?"

Yuliang looked at the small space beside him and then at the Sundanese-looking man standing in front of him with a frown.

He had an average build and a pretty face with deep-set light grey eyes, combined with short dark red hair and dark skin. All typical southern Furian colouring, but his accent suggested Medinian.

"Yeah, I d-" Yuliang's side flared up in pain from the force of his brother's pinch.

"Not at all," Yukio said with a bright grin. He began shifting their things to make space for the stranger. Yuliang was elbowed to move to the opposite end. "Please, take a seat!" Yukio said, patting the space in between them.

Rolling his eyes, Yuliang went back to reading his trashy romance web novel.

"You're also a University of Medina student, right?" Yuliang heard his brother ask the stranger.

"Wouldn't be taking this bus otherwise," the man said, prompting a laugh from Yukio.

"True. I'm Yukio, by the way, and that's my brother, Yuliang. I'm a first-year Fashion and Textiles student."

"Zander Vesalius. First-year Business Management student."

"Awesome! Business Management was my second preference if Fashion didn't work out."

Liar.

Yuliang bit his lip to prevent any words from escaping.


	9. The University of Medina I

The University of Medina, located within the outer boundaries of Downtown, Linos, has multiple branches, spanned the city's greater area. 

The main campus was a massive complex located close to Parliament Hill, composed of large buildings of both romanesque-gothic inspiration and the more sleek, modern facilities with clean lines, with expansive grassy fields, gardens, lakes surrounded by massive trees, and winding cobblestone pathways.

Yuliang's shoulders practically sagged from relief.

The area's Energy flow was still disturbed and felt very artificial, but it was far better than the parts of the concrete jungle he had experienced so far.

"You alright, brother?"

Yuliang opened his eyes, which had slid shut without his awareness, and offered his brother a grimace, "Yeah, I'm fine. You figure out how to get to the admissions office?"

The concern in his brother's eyes didn't fade despite his assurance, but Yukio was tactful enough not to push him on it.

"Yeah, we did. A couple of pretty sisters told us that it's the black building over there."

Zander looked at Yukio, curiously, "Why do you refer to them as sisters?"

"Um," Yukio blinked at him in confusion and exchanged a look with Yuliang, who just offered him a shrug. "Back home, we refer to everyone like that."

Zander mulled over the new piece of information with a serious look on his face, "I see. Sorry, I'm a second-generation Medinan, so I'm really out of touch with Sundanese practices."

"I can easily get you back in touch with Sundanese practices later in our rooms, brother Zander," Yukio purred, wrapping his arms around the man's neck with a coy smile. "We can practice as many times as you think is necessary to get back in touch with our...roots."

His actions flustered the redhead to the point of incoherence.

Biting back some choice words, Yuliang raised his eyes skyward and prayed to the moon goddess for patience.


	10. The University of Medina II

Despite the building's outward deserted appearance, the inside was a hub of activity teeming with people. New students with suitcases were seated or standing around waiting while the staff ran around with printouts of documents.

Upon noticing their arrival, a staff member instructs them to grab a number card, to call up later. 

After being handed a slip with his six-digit number printed on it, Zander turns to Yuliang in confusion, "Aren't you getting one?" 

Yuliang shrugged, "I don't need one." 

"Brother's not a student," Yukio explained. 

"What do you mean?" 

"The guy I'm meeting is over there, so I'm going to get going," Yuliang said to Yukio, jabbing his thumb in the front desk's direction, where a bearded blond man dressed in a black with red trim Healer's robe was standing. 

Yukio's eyes widened, "Woah, he's hot." 

Yuliang rubbed a hand over his face and pinched his nose's bridge, "Could you not." 

His brother raised his hands defensively, "Hey, I say it as I see it." 

Yuliang could only sigh, "I'll see you later, brother. Text me your dorm details when you get them." He paused, just as he was about to leave, and turned to level Zander with a piercing amber-eyed stare, lip curling up in a sneer. "You take care of him, or I'll cut your balls off," he said in parting.


	11. Professor Belmont and the Interns I

“I know I didn’t specify a time, but I was hoping that you wouldn't make me take up an entire morning just waiting for you.” Professor Belmont stated, after their introductions.

Long, shoulder-length blond hair, tied back with a black ribbon and a beard that took up half his face. There were small braids and beads interwoven into the man's hair that drew Yuliang's curiosity, but even he, for all his brashness, was not bold enough to inquire about it. 

Professor Belmont was a bit shorter than Yuliang, but with his authoritative presence, it wasn’t an immediately obvious fact. Yuliang knew he had to be at least a decade older than himself, but by appearance, he looked to be in his early twenties. 

It was a testament to the man's skill and capability. As on average, a mediocre Energy Manipulator, interspatial or kinaesthetic, would only stop signs of visible ageing well into their forties. 

Yuliang offered the man a shallow obligatory bow, “I apologize for the wait, Professor.”

The man gave him a firm nod, “Good. Now follow me. The others are waiting in my office.”


	12. Professor Belmont and the Interns II

In all ten years that he had been Head Healer, this would be Emil's first time taking on interns. A decision prompted by the request of his most esteemed teacher, Master Hala, who wished for her current apprentice, Yuliang, to have Emil as his second Endorser for the upcoming Certification Examination.

The other two interns were his highest performing students from the previous year, Eric Rhee and Clare Schmidt.

"I would like each of you to introduce yourselves. Name, age, and preferred field of practice. Let's start with the unfamiliar face," he said, gesturing to Davos.

The young man's frown deepened in response but did as instructed. "I'm Yuliang Davos. I’m Seventeen years old. I don't have a preferred field of practice, but most of my experience is in midwifery and limb replacement," he drawled.

Emil nodded, remembering his own time interning Sundan's rural countryside under Master Hala. It often was one extreme or another. Someone was either having a baby or coming to you without a limb. 

"You're just seventeen?" Clare asked, eyeing the shabbily dressed younger man with barely concealed distaste. 

Davos shrugged, "I'm a Licenced Healer."

"Really? How long exactly have you been a Healer and where and when did you get your degree?"

Yuliang rolled his eyes and shrugged, "Been a Healer since I could remember, sister-"

"I am not your sister."

The young man's deepening scowl indicated his displeasure, but he managed to hold on to his composure,"-but I've been licensed for about five years now." He shrugged, stuffing his hands into his coat pockets, "Didn't see a point getting a degree when I already got the damn license."

A sour look crossed Clare's face when she realized that the younger man both out experienced and outranked her. 

Healing was a career where only the talented thrived. 

Emil himself was one of those ‘natural prodigies’ who rose in the Healer ranks at a young age, so neither Yuliang being a Licensed Healer at seventeen nor his Certification plans, phased him.

"Next," Emil prompted, not wanting to spend the whole day on introductions.

"My name is Clare Schmidt. I'm...24 years old," she reluctantly admitted as if it hurt her to do so. "The field I would like to work in is Healing burns."

Emil offered her a nod of acknowledgment; burn victims were his specialization. He had never known Clare to have shown either interest or aptitude for the field before this, though. 

Emil could only assume that Clare either had a change of heart after graduation or she was hoping to increase her standing in his eyes.

He hoped it was the former, but as a member of the Belmont family and a successful Healer, Emil was too used to the latter to dismiss it.

Thankfully, he didn't have to think on it for too long, as the third intern took his turn. 

"I'm Eric Rhee. Currently 23 years old, but turning 24 next month," the Estish boy said to Yuliang with an easygoing grin. The young man had always been kind and open to people. Emil himself was quite fond of his ex-student. A diligent, hard-working omega who gave him little to no grief in the years he had taught him. "My preferred field of practice would have to be...hmm, probably, burns as well actually, but my skills with limb regrowth have gotten a lot better, so I'm starting to like limb replacement as well," he said brightly. 

Eric's pleasant demeanor was contagious enough that even the practically permanent frown on Davos' face softened a bit.

Eric, unlike Clare, had the skill for tackling burns and the latter part was obviously for the sake of finding common ground with Yuliang.

"It’s a bitch-" Davos stopped himself short, glancing at Emil.

Emil let it go with a wry smile, but he did make sure to convey a look of displeasure. 

Such crass vocabulary just wasn’t very acceptable for someone who was expected to rub shoulders with the upper crust of society in the future.

Davos corrected himself with a careless shrug, "It was... difficult getting the nerves wired right at first, but once you get that figured out, everything else pretty much falls into place."

While the advice was kind, it wouldn't be effective for a Healer of Eric's caliber, who, while a skilled Healer, was no prodigy. The only way limb replacement would come ‘naturally’ for Eric was if he decided to specialize in it. Which, for the average Healer, would take years of focused study and practice to perfect. 

Seeing as this was Master Hala’s current apprentice and Emil’s mentor-brother. Emil couldn't help but look forward to seeing Yuliang's skills in practice soon.


	13. Half-Estish Unite

"Hey, Yuliang, you're mixed, right?" Eric asked, on their way to the staff accommodation.

Yuliang nodded, "Yeah. My mama was Estish." 

The twins' straight black hair and almond-shaped amber eyes were inherited from her, while their dark brown skin, snub noses, and thick eyebrows and lashes were from their Sundanese father. 

"And you grew up your whole life in Sundan?" Eric asked.

"Yeah."

"That's great," Eric gushed, " I'm also mixed. My mom's Nordish and my father's Estish. Not a very rare combination around these parts, though," he said with a pout.

It was once it was pointed out that Yuliang took note of it. Eric was shorter than him by a head, with short straight black hair and amber eyes, much like himself. While not obvious at first glance, there were more Nordish features on the young man as well, like his prominent slightly upturned nose and rosy complexion instead of the more delicate pointed nose and porcelain complexion typical of pure Estish people. 

"You're kind of short for someone with Nordish blood," Yuliang observed, earning himself a glare from the other man. 

"Rude! Not all Nordish people are tall, you know. That's just a stereotype. Like my mom's only like 5'. Professor Belmont also has Nordish blood in him, and he's only a bit shorter than me. By the way, you're the first Estish-Sundanese person I've met. What's that been like?"

Yuliang shrugged, "Depends on where I am and who's with me. Sometimes strangers stare and ask questions, but it stops being a big deal after a while."

Eric nodded in understanding, "Yeah, that used to be the case for me as well, but since there are more of us in the city now, no one pays much attention to it anymore. Have you been to Estin yet?"

"Have you?" Yuliang countered.

Eric conceded with a laugh, "No, but I plan to after the internship. My mother's cousin's a Healer there, so I was thinking of getting more experience there before attempting the Certification exam. What about you?"

Yuliang shrugged, "I don't know. My current priority is getting Certified, but maybe after that, I'll think about it." 


	14. Accommodation Evaluation I

"Okay, so that's my number. If you have any questions, or you need help finding a place, or just want to hang out, feel free to hit me up," Eric said, handing his phone back to him.

"Thanks, brother," Yuliang said. 

He gave the older man a missed call so that he could add his own into his contacts. Which Eric promptly did under 'new bestie <3'.

"It's nothing. I'll see you tomorrow, then."

Yuliang liked Eric. 

The man was like a kinder, more genuine Yukio.

Yuliang locked the door behind him and dragged his suitcase into the decent sized apartment.

It was 1LDK; living room, dining room, kitchen. 

He left the suitcase on top of the bare mattress in his room to explore the space more.

The kitchen opened into the living and dining room, only separated by a long kitchen island. He was pleasantly surprised that along with an electric stove, the kitchen also came with an oven, microwave, fridge and a dishwasher.

The dining table was placed with a view out the large glass windows overlooking a parking lot and the student dormitory, which stood opposite to them. The fifth floor didn't give him much of a view, but there was an audible difference in wind speed. Something sure to be annoying in winter, when the winds picked up.

The living room had a simple coffee table and a worn leather couch facing a conspicuously empty wall where the television would be if he chose to purchase one.

He walked back down the corridor where his room had been and found the bathroom located at the end. It wasn't spacious, but it had all the essential components; shower, sink, toilet, and mirror, in relatively good condition, so he had no complaints.

Yuliang wanted to unpack, but he wasn't satisfied with the cleanliness of the place, so he pulled out his phone to make a quick list of the things he might need to get and called his brother.


	15. Brotherly Love I

“Going out for dinner tonight with some new friends, you coming?”

“Nah, you have fun, I'm not really in the mood to go out,” Yuliang said, as they walked out the student supply store with their purchases. 

The items were way overpriced and could have been bout for a fraction of that in Mist Valey, but the convenience of buying them on campus instead of having to go out had Yuliang paying the required amount with gritted teeth. 

“You don’t even have anything to cook with,” Yukio pointed out, sounding breathless from carrying his load. 

Yuliang, on the other hand, was used to manual labour and hadn't even broken a sweat.

“Going shopping in the evening. Eric said that supermarkets are open 24/7.”

“Won’t you be lonely, brother?” Yukio asked, swiping his student card on the access pad to unlock the door to the student dormitory building.

“You don’t have to leave me for a bunch of strangers on our first night here.” Yuliang held it open for Yukio to get through and lingered at the entrance. If he ended up going to his brother’s room right now, Yukio would find some way to rope him into doing everything for him. So, Yuliang was only going to see him off at the building entrance.

“I already agreed to go, brother. I can't pull out now. That's social suicide.”

“You have your answer, then.”

Yukio looked like a scolded puppy, “I’m sorry,” he whined.

Yuliang rolled his eyes and gave his shoulder a parting clasp, “We’re almost adults now, Yukio. We need to get used to this sort of thing. I’ll be fine; you enjoy your dinner. Call me if anything happens, alright?”

Yukio nodded. “I promise. Take care, brother."


	16. Accommodation Evaluation II

Yuliang dived into the act of cleaning his new place with relish; sweeping, mopping, scrubbing and polishing with a single-minded dedication with his music playing in the background.

He didn’t quit until the entire apartment was practically gleaming and smelling like citrus; a scent he associated with comfort and relaxation.

He stored his new equipment in the kitchen first, then went to his room to grab a towel and his toiletries and headed to the bathroom to take a long hot shower.

After washing a day’s worth of grime, Yuliang came out of the steaming shower and dried himself off with the large fluffy towel he’d left on the rail.

He then slipped on his underwear, pulled on his favourite grey hoodie and black sweats, while debating the merits of grabbing a coat on the way out.

Using the mirror that a previous owner had hung on the wardrobe door, Yuliang took on the long, arduous task of brushing through his waist-long hair. 

Once he finished brushing his hair, he tied a loose braid over his shoulder and sighed.

Today was turning into such a long day.


	17. Poor to poorer

Yuliang stepped out of the supermarket, $50 poorer with inferior produce and a bad mood.

Even the stuff he grew on his property back home was better quality than the crap they sold in there!

Maybe it was unfair of him to take it out on the staff, but who else could he complain to about being ripped off of his hard-earned money?

He didn't slave away the last seven years of his life saving up money just to have it all spent in a week!

He was stomping back to the university, thinking hard about how he was sustainably going to afford this for the next five to six months- when a sign on a storefront had him doubling back.

...Well, that could be a possible solution.


	18. Professor Belmont and the Interns III

Professor Belmont was seated at his desk looking the part of a scholar through and through, dressed in his red and black Healer robes, wearing a pair of black-framed glasses as he flipped through a thick book and murmuring to himself while scribbling notes.

Most would say he looked distinguished, but Yuliang thought he just looked old.

No one in his generation would be caught dead writing stuff down or using literal books for reference these days.

"Professor," he said, as politely as he could, trying to get the man's attention.

"Ah yes, Davos, please take a seat."

Yuliang did as told. "I didn't get the meeting time wrong, did I?" he asked.

"Not at all," Belmont assured him, bookmarking his place with his stack of notes and pushing it off to the side of the table. "It's been three days since you've arrived. How are you finding it here?"

Yuliang frowned, "It's fine, but I thought we were here to talk about my assignments."

The Professor levelled him with a long look, "Not a fan of casual conversation, Davos?"

Yuliang shrugged, "Just didn't think it was the purpose of the meeting, sir."

"Hm. Well, since you're so eager, here's your schedule."

The Professor slid a sheet of paper towards him.

"You are assigned to teach the first-year practical class, and for the other appointed times, you will be the Field Healer for the second year Enforcer class.

For your classroom hours, I expect documentation of your lesson plans, your thought process behind them, the student reception and analysis of student performance as well.

For your duties as a Field Healer, you should already be in the habit of documenting your patients, so I expect a standard report of your experiences.

Now, Do you have any questions?"

"None. Is that all, Professor?"

"So impatient. Got somewhere to go, Davos?"

Yes. To bed.

"No Professor. I just didn't want to impose."

Professor Belmont looked at him with glimmering blue eyes, "You're hardly an imposition. Well, either way, here is your uniform," he said, reaching under his desk for a moment before coming up and handing him a robe identical to his wrapped in clear plastic.

Yuliang received it with both hands, "Thank you, sir."

His hands itched with the urge to tear into the packaging a feel the fabric against his skin, but he held himself back.

He needed to call Yukio first.

"First time getting one?" the professor asked, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah. Granny didn't think she was qualified to give me one."

Belmont let out an incredulous laugh, "Granny? You call Master Hala, 'granny'?"

Yuliang scrunched his nose, "She'd my dad's mother. What else would I call her?"

Belmont's eyes widened. "Wait, you're her grandson?"

"Yeah."

"She never mentioned that to me."

"She is pretty old now. Her memory's probably not as good as it used to be."

To Yuliang's confusion, his comment had the Professor laughing even harder.


	19. Brotherly Love II

“I’m posting this on my Social account,” Yukio announced, waving the photo of Yuliang dressed in his Healer's robe in his brother’s face.

“Don’t. You know I don’t like you posting my photos there.”

Yukio rolled his eyes, “Don’t be a stick in the mud, brother. How’s everyone back home going to know how you’re doing if I don’t post photos of you here?”

“You could simply call them,” Yuliang suggested, as he busied himself with cooking lunch. Nothing fancy, just fried rice and chicken curry.

“Nah, too much effort. Anyways, I already posted it. No take-backs,” Yukio said, grinning unrepentantly.

Yuliang rolled his eyes. He was too used to his brother's antics to get too hung up on it. “Whatever. How was your first day of class?”

Yukio hopped off the high stool at the long kitchen island and happily began rambling about his day. How great his teachers were, how many students there were and how he had made so many new friends.

“I’m so jealous that you’re going to be working with the Enforcing students. Everyone says that there all the hot people are from Enforcing,” Yukio pouted. Then he straightened up. Yuliang could practically see the bad idea forming in his head, “Wait, you could try wingman for me!”

“Don’t be a fucking moron, brother. I’ll get kicked out if I did shit like that. I thought you had Zander now, what gives?”

Yukio’s face scrunched in confusion, “What? Zander? No. I mean, he’s alright, I guess. He's a nice guy, a good lay, whatever. We're not serious or anything. We have an agreement.”

“To fuck?” Yuliang deadpanned, putting a plate of steaming food in front of his brother.

“To have fun,” Yukio corrected, digging into the food with gusto.

Yuliang rolled his eyes before joining him on the counter with his share.

“I don’t get why it’s such a big deal to you, brother. Sex is just sex. It doesn’t always have to have meaning behind it. Any person worth staying with wouldn’t care whether you’ve fucked other people or not,” Yukio proclaimed, raising the half-eaten chicken leg in emphasis.

Yuliang sneered, “I just think that you should be a bit more cautious with choosing your partners and not go around wanting to fuck everything that breathes.”

“Are you calling me a whore?”

“If the shoe fits,” Yuliang said with a snort. “I just don't want you to make a mistake, brother. At least remember to use condoms.”

Yukio gave him the most offended look that he could muster with his mouth stuffed with food. “Of course, I do!” Then he paused and amended, “Most of the time.”

Yuliang sighed, “ I’d feel better if you could change that to all the time. Just be fucking careful, yeah?”

“Fucking careful isn’t my thing though, brother. You know I like fucking rough better.”

“Fuck off, Yukio.”


	20. First Day Teaching

Yuliang eyed the 13 bright-eyed students seated before him critically. It was hard to believe that these people were the same age as him, especially the short one sitting at the very front.

Wait, that can't be right.

"You. How old are you?"

The boy straightened up proudly under the attention that fell on him, "My name is not, You. My name is Elys, and I'm 13. The university scouted me to join the program because I have perfect Energy control."

At least there was one person young enough for teaching them not to be awkward.

"Good on you. Alright," he directed his attention back to the rest of the class. "So, I guess I should introduce myself now. I'm Yuliang Davos. All of you can call me Yuliang, or Davos if that's more comfortable for you. I'll be in charge of your practical classes. How many of you have previous experience with Healing?"

When no one raised their hand, Yuliang raised an eyebrow. "Really? No one?"

"Isn't the whole point of this program to teach us how to Heal?" Elys asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Doesn't mean people can't take the initiative." Yuliang sighed, "Alright, so your lecture you covered, cuts and bruises. Yeah?"

There was a chorus of agreement from the class.

"Good. So, I'm going to take attendance now. When I call your name, you will come to the front and get one of the leaves I have here on the table, go back to your desk and wait for further instructions."

Once everyone's name was called, everyone did as told and returned to their desk with their leaf. After the last student took their seat, he continued. "Plant cells are structurally and functionally slightly different from human cells, but they also contain Energy and considered living. So they will be a good starting point for you to start learning the basics of Interspatial Energy manipulation. I hope that all of you remember what that means because it's pretty darn important. Lilou, why don't you give it a crack, tell me what it is."

The Kulonian girl looked surprised at being called but did as requested. "Um. It's the form of Energy manipulation primarily used by Healers to Heal and remove damage from the body through the regeneration of cells and allows us to numb and sensitize nerves as required?"

"Are you asking me or telling me?"

"Telling?"

Yuliang pursed his lips, briefly considering the benefits of continued cruelty, but in the end, he relented. "Well, you aren't wrong. Did anyone else want to add anything or have anything different to say? No one?"

He picked up the large leaf left on his desk and held it up for the class to see, "So if you take a closer look at your leaves, you'll notice that they are all damaged in some way or another. Your task, therefore, is to repair them."


	21. Second Year Menaces I

Yuliang’s first session as field Healer was with the second-year Enforcer class and it wasn’t long before he realized why Belmont had tossed such work at the interns instead.

He could only clench his teeth at the casual sweaty arm thrown over his shoulder by the instructor, who practically had their bodies plastered together. “Second years! Gather around!” 

They were standing at the center of UMed’s massive multi-million dollar indoor training arena, with the thirty rambunctious second-year students approaching them, eyeing the stranger in their midst with sharp-eyed curiosity.

“This omega is Yuliang, he’s going to be our on-site Healer. In case you knuckleheads don’t understand what that means. It means that when you get fucked up while training, you go to him to get your boo-boos patched up.” 

As blood-boiling as it was to be outed and condescended in public this way, Yuliang wanted his place here too much to react the way he wanted to, but he couldn’t make them think he was easy to mess with either.

“I’m not here to deal with any minor injuries. Don’t waste my time and take that kind of thing to the nurse. I’m only here to take care of the seriously injured,” Yuliang asserted bluntly, pulling away from the instructor’s unnecessary touch with a scowl. “I’ll be in the office over there if you need me.”


	22. Second Year Menaces II

Yuliang was in the middle of typing up his report for his previous practical lesson when the door to the Healing bay slammed open.

"We need you! His arm! Come with me."

Yuliang was on his feet in a flash, running after the panicked and blood-covered student to the combat ring.

"Out of the fucking way!" Yuliang snapped, pushing past the crowd of people.

One of them turned to him looking ready to snap, but seeing who he was, he barked at everyone to move, clearing the way for him to enter instead.

Yuliang fell to his knees beside his patient and tsked. How the fuck did this person manage to destroy his arm this way?

He pushed the hands that staunched the flow of blood away and replaced them with his glowing green ones, immediately working to Heal the stump.


	23. Second Year Menaces III

Back in his office, with his unconscious patient on the bed, Yuliang waited for his supervisor to arrive.  
Since he was just an intern so he couldn’t tackle things like regrowing limbs without a Senior Healer supervising him. 

“Can’t you do something now? Isn’t waiting so long going to make chances of full recovery lower?” demanded a tall dark-skinned Kulonian woman.

“Look! What part of I’m not fucking allowed to, do you not understand?” Yuliang finally snapped. “Yeah, waiting sometimes makes it more difficult for Healers to recover the arm in perfect condition, but no regrown limb would be perfectly functional like the original, period! How did this moron even manage to fuck up his arm like this?”

“Watch your mouth, brat,” the Nordish-looking man beside her growled, silver eyes flashing. 

The Kulonian woman sighed, ruffling her afro in agitation, “Seth overloaded his arm with Energy during combat, I think. I’m honestly not too sure; it all just happened so fast.” 

Yuliang made a note of the new information, with a tight nod. 

The woman collapsed onto a chair, rubbing a hand over her face. “He really should have known better than to do that, but he’s been pushing himself too hard for a while now; it was bound to happen eventually.”

“Can you blame him though? The bar was already set high for him with trying to match up to Conrad and Lorcan’s level, but now he has to compete with his 13 year old brother for recognition as well.” 

The name immediately popped into his mind, “Elys Rydel.” 

The silver-eyed man nodded, “Yeah. You know him?” 

Yuliang shrugged, “In passing. He is in the Healing program.”

“For ‘perfect Energy control,’” the man sneered, crossing his arms over his chest. “So, fucking annoying. I hate that brat. My folks wouldn’t stop talking about it the whole summer. None of the people in Society did.”

The woman made a noise in agreement, “Pretty sure the entire country was talking about it. Even my parents heard about it, and they live in Arken, Kulon.” 

“I don’t get it. There are plenty of other more important things to talk about, like the war recovery efforts in the West or that new mine they’re planning on building in the South, but instead, everyone’s just talking about some spoilt brat.” 

The woman nodded with a furious scowl, and glanced at their unconscious friend before quietly muttering, “Just because they’re fucking aristocrats…”


	24. Professor Belmont and the Interns IV

Emil watched impassively as his mentor-brother worked on regenerating an arm with the confidence and focus he’d only seen in specialists and Healers with decades of experience. 

Yuliang wasn’t experienced enough to maintain the energy discharge to his fingertips yet, but the fact that can limit it to his hands, at his age, was still impressive. 

He briefly spared a glance at the two students watching the procedure in silent fascination. Kalifa Hassan and Alan Richards, young Master Rydel’s closest companions.

A bad investment if Seth Rydel was hoping to increase his standing in Society, but then again, the Rydel family had never seen the value in making connections; too blinded by their family’s gleaming reputation.

On the other hand, Emil’s younger brother, Feliks, was using his time here wisely, establishing a wide network of ‘friends’ with the talented, the influential and the well connected among his peers. 

“I’m done, professor.”

The words caught Emil off guard, but he didn’t let his surprise show. Instead, he reached over to inspect the young man’s work himself.

As expected of Master Hala’s grandson.

There wasn’t a single flaw to be detected.


	25. Baking with Norma I

Yuliang’s solution to his money shortage problem was to apply for part-time work. 

Lucky for him, the bakery he had passed that day was hiring, and they needed workers enough that they just hired him when he showed up even a week later. 

He would have gone there earlier, but he had been too busy with his classes and other internship duties to even think about anything else.

Yuliang’s first day at his part-time job at the bakery though, which was on the Saturday following his fire, almost ended in disaster. He got into an argument with a disrespectful customer who was had been cursing quite rudely at his co-worker Mina. 

Mina was also a UMed student. She was a third-year medical student who had been working at the bakery for a year now. She had been instructing him on how the cash register worked when she made a small mistake with the customer’s change. That had resulted in the argument. 

Thankfully, his employer, a kind woman named Norma, didn’t fire him on the spot or scold Mina for her mistake, but she didn't think Yuliang should work at the front after that. 

“Do you have any experience baking?” Norman asked, eyeing his appearance doubtfully.

Yuliang tried not to fidget self-consciously under the blue eyes stare.

“I do. Used to make things like bread from scratch. We have lots of fruit orchards back home, so when they’re in season, we bake lots of pies, cakes and other desserts with the stuff that doesn’t get exported.” 

Norma looked pleasantly surprised, “Well, that’s wonderful! I’d have never been able to tell you were a baker, from how you look.”

What was that supposed to mean? 

“How wonderful! Come with me then. Mina will be fine watching the counter. I want to assess your skills.”


	26. Brotherly Love III

“Brother, please come out for dinner with me tonight. All my friends want to meet you.”

Yuliang wondered whether slamming the door in his brother’s face was too dramatic of a way to say no. 

“Please, please, please. I already promised them that you’d come tonight.” 

“Guess they’re just going to have to be disappointed then,” Yuliang stated, slamming it shut anyway.

Yukio was going to try harder than that if he wanted to get his way.


	27. Brotherly Love IV

After hours of pleading, bargaining and threats, Yuliang finally agreed to his brother's request, on the condition that Yukio gets a part-time job for his spending and only uses the money Yuliang saved up for essentials.

During work, a conversation about their living situations had taken place between the staff and it was then that Mina had pointed out the fact that his brother was unfairly freeloading off his efforts.

Before that conversation, Yuliang hadn't thought there was anything wrong with how they did things.

No one back home, paid much attention to how they were surviving, except for granny and she was usually too busy with the clinic to have a more active role in their life, and it wasn't like Yukio was going to complain about being allowed to relax at home while Yuliang was busy running around earning and saving money for their futures.

"Honestly, brother, you have no idea what type of position you're putting me in, asking me to do this. If my friends find out I have to work part-time, they're going to laugh at me for being a povo." Yukio complained from his bed as Yuliang got dressed.

"I know working for your luxury lifestyle sounds awful after being a leech for so long, but take it from your brother who started working at 13. Grow the fuck up."

"There's no need to be so hostile, brother. I never asked you to do all that. You did it yourself. I don't remember you ever telling me that you needed any help."

There was so much wrong with that sentence, Yuliang had to bite his tongue to prevent the scathing, unforgivable words that threatened to escape him.

"Oh...I didn't realize, brother. I'm sorry."

"What are you apologizing for?" Yuliang spat, roughly buttoning up his shirt. "It's my fault for not saying anything before, right?"

"Brother..." 

"Enough, Yukio. Let's just go."


	28. At the Bar I

Yuliang swirled the amber liquid in his glass idly for a few moments, listening to the rowdy chatter and laughter coming from the back table before knocking back his drink. Enjoying the sweet drink with mild bitterness. 

Amber delight, it was called, he was pretty sure. He gestured for the bartender to pour him another one, feeling indulgent since he wasn’t the one paying for it. 

“Thank you, brother,” he said, accepting the glass with a small smile. 

“Shouldn’t you join your friends?” the older man asked curiously going back to wiping down the counter.

Yuliang snorted, “Those pathetic lightweights aren’t my friends. They’re my brother’s.”

“I see. Where are you from, by the way? Your accent sounds familiar, but I can’t pinpoint it.” 

Yuliang laughed, “I have an accent? Really? That’s funny; I was here thinking that it was all of you guys that had an accent.”

The man laughed, “I guess that’s what it would seem like to you.”

Yuliang took a sip of his drink, savouring the taste. 

“I’m from Sundan.” 

“Really? I wouldn’t have guessed. You don't have red hair, and you have amber eyes.”

Yuliang shrugged, “Estish mother, Sundanese father. Lived all our life in Sundan, so we consider ourselves Sundanese.” 

“Well, that explains would explain the looks. A lot of Nordish-Estish people here, but this is the first time I’m meeting a Sundanese-Estish person.”

Yuliang chuckled, “You’re the second person to tell me that, brother. Cheers.” He downed the rest of the drink and sighed, “This is really good, you know. Don’t think I’ve ever drunk anything quite like it.” 

“I'm happy to hear that. It’s a personal creation. You want another?”

“Not like it’s my money I’m spending. Sure, I’ll have another.”


	29. At the Bar II

“Hey, brother, what are you doing, sitting here alone like a loser?” Yukio slurred, draping himself over Yuliang’s back, almost causing him to spill his drink. 

“What do you mean alone? Can’t you see I’m having a conversation with Jorey here?” Yuliang drawled, gesturing with his glass to the man behind the bar. He spilled some of his drink over the counter while at it. 

“It’s Jeremy, actually,” the bartender corrected. 

“Yeah, that’s what I said. What are you even doing here, Yu-yu? Go back to your f-fucking friends. Fuck buddies? Friends fucking? You know what I mean!”

Yukio giggled, sprawling onto the stool beside him with some effort. “You haven’t called me Yu-yu since we were kids, brother. You’re so drunk.”

Yuliang shook his head vehemently, sloshing his drink over the counter even more. “Nuh-uh. You’re drunk. Now go away. I don’t have time to play with you, can’t you see I’m busy?”

Yukio pouted, “You never have time to play with me anymore, brother. No fair.” 

“Joey, give my brother some juice, please. Or water. He had a- had a bit too much to drink.” 

“Well, if I’m drunk, then you’re drunker than me!” Yukio declared, with a smug grin.

Yuliang gasped, outraged. “Nuh-uh! You take that back!”

Any potential argument was broken by the sound of a laugh from behind them, drawing the brother’s attention away from each other. 

“There’s no way those bitches aren’t omegas, bro, but I’m a nice guy so if you want to check, you can after I’ve had a go at them.”

Yuliang whipped his head around, amber eyes narrowed in a furious glare for the source of it and landed on a group of five men over at the pool table leering at them. 

“Oh shit, I think they heard you,” one of them muttered, nudging his friend, who continued to eye them brazenly. 

Knocking back the rest of the glass, and spilling half of it all over himself, Yuliang hopped off his seat.  
“Oi, dickhead. You looking for a fight or something?” 

“Brother, no,” Yukio pleaded, grabbing his arm in a vice-like grip to stop him from walking away.

Not even considering his threat seriously, men laughed. 

“Yeah, I’m looking for a fight, sweetheart. Something more fun than the kind you’re thinking though.” the man said, handing his pool cue to a buddy and walking towards them. 

“Oh,” Yukio quietly whimpered, loosening the grip on his brother’s arm. Whether out of fear or arousal, it was impossible to say with Yukio, but Yuliang took the opportunity to pull away. He tackled the man to the ground and punched him hard across the face. 


	30. At the Bar III

Somehow, Yuliang’s actions had lead to a bar brawl of massive proportions. Even drunks from other bars in the area began wandering in to get a piece of the action. Things got bad enough that eventually, someone called law enforcement. 

Yuliang was about to knock a fourth guy out with a hard kick to the head when the sudden smell of cinnamon in the air had him freezing.

But, before he could find the source of it, he was tossed over someone’s shoulder and pushed over the bar counter.

He was about to protest when Yukio pulled him under the counter and covered his mouth.

“The Enforcers are here, shut up!”

That had Yuliang sobering up pretty quick.


	31. At the Bar IV

When Yuliang woke up the day after, he found that he and his brother still curled up under the same counter as the night before, but they had a blanket tossed over them to protect them from the autumn chill. 

Yuliang pulled himself up with a quiet groan and buried his face in his hands as the memories from last night came to the forefront of his mind. 

He shoved his snoring brother off roughly and got to his feet. 

The whole place was a mess of toppled over, scattered and broken furniture and glass. 

“Oh fuck.” 

“Yeah, that’s what I thought when I woke up this morning too.”

Yuliang immediately fell to his knees in a deep bow. “I sincerely apologize for the part I played what happened last night. I am willing to make up for my error in judgement by cleaning the entire place and working here for free to compensate.”

“Oh no, don’t do that. Get up; the floor is filthy!”

Yuliang stumbled to his feet and looked at Jeremy remorsefully. 

The older man offered him a kind smile and pat him on the shoulder, “Can’t say, I wouldn’t appreciate the help or the free labour, but in these parts, we tend to have fights break out at least every other week. Not a safe place for an omega to work. Either way, we’re all well insured for this sort of thing.” 

“But, none of this would have happened if I hadn’t started it,” Yuliang protested.

Jeremy shook his head, “If we go by that logic, I’m also at fault for offering you more to drink, even though I had a feeling that you’d drunk well beyond your limits. I heard what that man said last night too. I think it was well within your rights to defend your honour. I also never once saw you destroy any property, either. Just kicking people's asses. Seriously, where did an omega learn to fight like that?” 

Yuliang grimaced, “Here and there," he said. Then he sighed, "I’d still feel better if I could at least help you clean up a bit.” 

Jeremy smiled, “If it's just that, feel free. You won’t hear me complain.”


	32. Helping Elys I

“Yuliang, I was hoping you could help me with something.”

It wasn’t often that young Elys Rydel approached him or anyone for help, but Yuliang did note that after the first few times, the teen’s shame with having to do it had significantly lessened.

Yuliang cleared the table for the teen to place his textbook. The thing probably weighed about half as much as Elys did. 

“Sure, what’s up?

“Could you explain the Lavo-Curie Theorem to me? I don’t understand it at all,” he quietly admitted.

“Oh,” Yuliang’s eyes widened in realization. So that’s why the boy had been struggling so much with today’s task.

“Okay, now I get it.”

Elys frowned, “What?” 

“I get why you were struggling with today’s lesson now. Let’s start with what you already have an understanding of and then tell me what’s got you stumped.” 

Elys groaned, shoulders slumping. “I don’t understand a thing! The textbook terms are so confusing, and the stuff online is even worse. Pretty sure the same person who wrote this wrote every resource in existence about it.” 

Yuliang nodded, “Alright. Not sure if it’ll be much better, but I’ll try explaining it in my own words. So the whole purpose of the Lavo-Curie Theorem is to help Healers determine the amount of Energy required to clot the blood and Heal the injured site simultaneously. In the first year, you will get taught to stop the blood flow completely using the theory, but in the later years, it’ll make learning 'partial clots' and controlling the flow of blood easier.” 

Elys’ face scrunched up, “Wait. That’s it? That’s what all those confusing chapters were trying to say?”  
Yuliang nodded, “Yeah, pretty much.”

“Why couldn’t they just say what you did in simple, plain language, then?”

“No university would use a textbook with less than a thousand pages.” 

“Why’s that?”

Yuliang shrugged, “I don’t know. Do I look like I’m in charge here?”

Elys laughed, “You do actually. Everyone’s scared of you.”

Yuliang frowned, “Everyone? You mean the rest of the class?” 

The blond boy nodded, “Yeah. They say you’re a good teacher, but too scary to approach. I’m braver than all of them, aren’t I, since I talk to you all the time.”

“I guess? I don’t get why they think I’m scary, though.” 

“I don’t either, but that’s their problem. Out of everyone here, you’re the only one I like.”


	33. Second Year Menaces IV

A knock on the door had Yuliang looking up from his work to see the Troublesome Trio standing at the doorway.

“Oh. It’s you,” he said scowling.

Seth Rydel scoffed and he strolled in to flop onto the medical bed. “Rude! Is that how they teach you to speak to your elders in Sundan? Thought you guys were supposed to be like super respectful to your elders. Or was that the Estish...” 

Kalifa and Alan followed his lead and took a seat on their preferred chairs themselves. 

Yuliang rolled his eyes. “What do you want, Rydel. I thought I had made myself clear on the first day. Unless someone's bleeding, don’t bother me.”

“Technically, I am bleeding right now,” Kalifa said with a smirk.

Yuliang scrunched his nose, amber eyes darting in search of an obscure cut. “You are? Where?”

“From my cunt.” 

The trio cracked up.

Yuliang huffed, helplessly amused, and had to turn back to face his screen to hide his smile. 

“Alright, you’ve had your fun. Now, are you here for something important, because I don’t have time to play with you today. Got a lot of work to catch up on.” 

His entire weekend had been spent helping with the reparations at the wreaked bar, so he was playing catch with his reports now. 

“Yuliang, you’re an omega, right?” 

The scowl came back full force, along with a wary glint in his eyes. “Yeah, I am. What about it?” 

He heard the mattress creaking as the older man made himself more comfortable. 

From the corner of his eye, Yuliang could see Kalifa and Alan were making themselves busy on their phones.

“Well, I just thought it was weird. You don’t act like one at all.”

Yuliang's upper lip curled up in a sneer, “And how exactly is an omega supposed to act, Rydel?”

“First of all, I’m not trying to offend you or anything like that. I’m just curious, alright? I just want to make that clear. If I ask anything you’re uncomfortable with answering, just tell me to fuck off, alright?” 

Yuliang scoffed and turned his chair to face the reclining man. “ I doubt it would make a difference. You don’t even shut up when I say it on a normal day.”

“This is different, I’m serious here. What I meant before was, you don’t have a chaperone or an engagement. You don’t act or dress like them either. Why?” 

Yuliang considered his question for a few moments. “No money, no time and no one back home really cares about shit like that. As long as I do my job, what I wear and how I act don't really matter. The people who did...” Yulinag dealt with them, personally. "...They were a minority."

Seth blew the strands of his growing brown hair out of his eyes. “That's really different from how things are in here. Or how things are in Society, at least.” 

“Society?”

“It's the collective term for the upper class,” Alan explained without even looking up from his phone. 

"Upper class? Like rich people and Lords and Ladies?” 

“Yeah.”

“Honestly, Yuliang, you act so little like an omega, that if I didn't already know you were an omega, I'd have thought you were a normal man,” Seth said, with an amused curl of his lips.

Yuliang lips twitched up the slightest in amusement, “Thanks.” 

“Common-born omegas are quite rare though. If you’d been born here, you’d have either been adopted by an upper-class family or gotten engaged to a member of one,” Alen said. Silver eyes, studying him curiously. “Though, that could happen now too. Once the news of you circulates, I wouldn’t be surprised if you started getting offers.” 

Yuliang’s face twisted in disgust, “No thank you. I don’t have any interest in getting engaged anytime soon. Seriously though, guys, nice chat and whatever, but get out. I have work to do.”


	34. Second Year Menaces V

“What do you guys think?”

“He’s a diamond in the rough. He’ll need months of training to pull off what you want from him, and that’s if he fucking agrees to it.” Alan didn’t look very confident with the chances of that happening. 

“Don’t even try, Seth. You’ll ruin what good relationship we have with him if you do. You’d have to be blind not to see that he’s going to go far. Even Feliks is desperate to have him. He got Yuliang's brother to invite him to go drinking with them-” 

“What?” Seth growled, brown eyes flashing red briefly. “I know Feliks is scum, but even that rat bastard knows the fucking rules!”

Kalifa rolled her eyes. “Shut up; you didn’t let me finish. He did get Yuliang to go along with them, but Yuliang ditched them to drink by himself and ended up starting a bar fight. It was bad enough that the Enforcers got called. Now the brothers aren’t talking, and Feliks has no cards left to manipulate,” she finished with a cackle. 

Seth and Alan exchanged incredulous glances. 

“He started a bar fight?”

“He has a brother?” 

Kalifa’s eyes widened, “Yes to both, but oh my god. He has a brother!”

It took a moment for Seth to catch up, but soon all three of them were laughing like madmen in the middle of the training arena. 

“He has a brother!”


	35. Brotherly Love V (ft.Baking with Norma)

Yuliang frowned as he stared at his phone.

Still nothing.

No call, no text, nothing.

It had been almost two weeks since the ‘bar incident’ and Yukio hadn’t tried to get into contact with him since. 

It was strange because no matter how bad the disagreement between them, and they have had worse before. Though usually, Yukio was the one to cave in first and contact him. It’s been weeks now, and there was still nothing from his brother. 

Maybe he was busy with classes or, moon goddess forbid, maybe something happened to him without Yuliang realizing?

Honestly, both options were preferable to his brother being mad at him. 

“Yuliang! What are you doing? The oven’s been beeping for like five minutes now! The cakes are going to burn!”

Oh shit!

“Sorry Norma, I'm on it!” 

He’ll check on Yukio after work.


	36. Mistaken Identity

“Hey, Yukio. I haven’t seen you in ages. How are you doing?”

“Not Yukio. I’m his brother,” Yuliang said bluntly.

He was standing at the entrance of the student dorm waiting for a student to open the door for him, but probably because it was Saturday morning, no one was around to do it.

The girl looked taken aback for a moment. Then she squinted at him and looked at him from a different angle as if that would change everything. 

Yuliang wanted to roll his eyes, but he didn’t think it was a good idea to antagonize his ticket into the dorm. 

“Hmmm. Really? He never mentioned having a twin. You aren’t Yukio playing a prank or something stupid like that, right?” 

“No. Now could you fucking open the damn door? I need to go see him.” 

“Oh wow, yeah. You’re not Yukio. He’d never be such an asshole, or get caught dead wearing something like that,” she muttered under her breath. 

For her sake, Yuliang pretended not to hear it.


	37. Brotherly Love VI

At first, Yuliang rapped three crisp knocks on the door and stepped back for his brother to open the door, but when nothing happened for a good five minutes, Yuliang got pissed off and began banging on the door. 

He didn’t stop until the door was yanked open by a barely dressed Yukio ten minutes later. 

He looked furious, ready to rip into whoever it was until he saw who it was.

“Brother?” 

Yuliang eyed his brother’s mussed up, hickey covered state with distaste. He sneered, “Am I going to meet your boyfriend now? Or just another fuck-buddy?”

“What? Oh, don’t worry about him, he was just leaving. What are you doing here?” Yukio asked, leaning against the doorframe, crossing his arms over his chest. 

Yuliang ducked his head, the words he prepared leaving him, but he soldiered on despite it. He looked his brother in the eye and said, “Kick the fuck out, brother. I want to talk to you.”


	38. Brotherly Love VII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: mentions of past non-con

Turned out, his brother’s company wasn’t just some random student.

“Rydel? What the fuck are you doing fucking my brother?”

Yuliang was felt his blood boil with the spike of fury that raced through him.

Yukio’s looked from his brother to last night’s partner and then to his brother again, face slowly turning uneasy, “You guys know each other?”

Yuliang nodded, “Yeah. He’s a second-year student from the class I intern with.”

Yukio turned to Seth with blazing amber eyes, “You lied to me?”

Seth released a nervous laugh, “I think there’s been a misunderstanding here.”

“A misunderstanding?” the twins chorused.

Yuliang’s hands trembled with the feelings that rose within him, but seeing the absolutely shattered look on Yukio’s face, he forced them to be steady.

There was no way he’d land a decent punch with shaky fists.

The brothers were very well aware of how they looked. How it didn’t matter to most people that they were different people because, to them, they looked the same.

It had been a source of insecurity for both of them growing up. Especially Yukio, who had always needed a lot more assurance than Yuliang had.

It had only gotten worse after that horrible incident from two years ago.

Yukio had come home after spending the night with someone, in tears and covered in blood and bruises. Yuliang immediately thought the worst.

Of course, as reality usually was, it was much worse than he imagined.

It apparently had started out fine, but in the middle of them having sex, Yukio’s partner accidentally called him ‘Yuliang’.

Yukio had thought it was weird, but the man had apologized, so Yukio had laughed it off and agreed to continue, but as things got more heated up, the slip-up started happening more and more often until eventually, the man started being extremely rough with him. Pulling his hair, practically tearing some off his scalp, spanking him hard enough to bruise him, scratching and pinched him hard enough to make him bleed, all without previous discussion. To make matters worse, he had been called ‘Yuliang’ the entire time.

So, not only had his brother been assaulted, but he had been assaulted as proxy for Yuliang.

It took a long time for not just Yukio, but for Yuliang as well, who had misplaced guilt over it, to come to terms with the incident.

For Yukio, who was a lot stronger than he gave himself credit, recovery happened with time, support from Yuliang, and a string of clear, consensual sexual encounters.

For Yuliang, recovery had taken seeing his brother regain his vitality and confidence once more.

These days the only remnant of his trauma was Yukio asking all unfamiliar partners whether they knew ‘Yuliang’ before consenting to go further with them.

He never slept with the ones that did.

That brought them back to the situation at hand.

Seth fucking Rydel had fucked his brother.


	39. Off-guard I

Seth Rydel had fucked up many times in his life before. 

He’d fucked up enough times in his life that out of all eight children in the Rydel family he was the one considered the ‘fuck up.’ 

On the other hand, probably because he'd fucked up so many times, Seth was good with his words. So while he did get himself into plenty of binds before, his silver tongue had always gotten him out of them relatively unscathed, and his status had prevented any severe backlash.

This time was different though.

Not only hadn’t he even been given the courtesy to explain his case, but he'd been caught completely off guard and gotten his ass handed to him. 

Damn, that bitch punched hard.


	40. Brotherly Love VIII

Yuliang was seated on his brother’s bed still fuming, while his brother came back with a wet rag and a basin to clean the blood off his hands.

Yukio’s eyes and the tip of his nose were slightly red but other than that he looked just as disapproving as he usually did in the aftermath of Yuliang’s aggression.

Yukio sighed, “Did you have to attack Seth, brother?”

Yuliang growled, “Don’t say that fucker’s filthy name, Yukio. And you know I did. Did he or did he not lie to you?”

Yukio said nothing in response, choosing to gently take one of Yuliang’s rough, calloused hands to begin cleaning them instead.

Yuliang’s chest felt tight, as the nostalgia of the moment sucker-punched him in the gut.

His brother used to do it all the time when they were kids. Yuliang used to get into a lot of fights with the other kids in town back when they were easy targets and gotten bullied a lot. Mostly for their unusual appearance, but also for other stupid things kids made fun of like having no parents and having no money.

They were the reason Yuliang learned to fight. The reason he’d known the only way to shut people up was to beat them into submission.

He had thrown his first punch at 12 and now at 17, he’d only gotten better.

“I’m afraid, brother, that one day you’re going to pick a fight with someone you can’t beat,” Yukio confessed quietly, bringing Yuliang back to the present.

Yuliang huffed, “You and me both, brother. Though it’s not like I fight people for fun, they’re the ones that make it necessary.”

“Nothing makes violence necessary, brother,” Yukio said sharply, grip on his hand tightening. “Violence is a choice you make time and time again because you’re too much of a coward to find a real solution.”

Yuliang shrugged. “You’ve always been the smart one, brother. You always think of maybe five to ten different ways to resolve a situation that I couldn’t even dream of, but for me, I can only think of one or two at a time, and when it involves people that piss me off, it’s always the one.”

“That’s not true. How could I possibly be the smart one when you’re the one everyone calls a genius?” Yukio protested though Yuliang could see the pleasant surprise in his brother’s face from the praise.

Yuliang shrugged, “They’re stupid. They think I’m a genius because I’m doing an internship at 17, but I’m pretty sure if everyone grew up the way we did. Living and breathing uncorrupt Energy, and being taught to manipulate Energy as soon as we could speak, they’d all be able to do the same.”

Yukio snorted, “Not really. I grew up the same way you did, and I can barely Heal a cut without passing out from the Energy drain. Don’t sell yourself short; you are a genius.”

“That’s because you’re lazy as fuck and never bothered to apply yourself as a kid.” He sighed. “Lets put this situation behind us. I’ll deal with whatever comes up with Rydel, so don’t worry about it. I came here to talk to you about something else.”

“Oh yeah. I was so shocked to see you this morning. You’ve never visited before. What’s up.”

Yuliang frowned, “Have you been ignoring me the last few weeks because you’re still pissed off at me?”

Yukio stared at him with wide amber eyes and blinked, “No? I mean, I was at the start. You kind of ruined the entire night, and my friends were pissed off at me, especially Feliks, but I decided to drop them after that, so it’s fine; they were all elitist pricks anyway. Then I was busy with classwork, and the last few days, I started running into...that guy at the cafe I usually go to and kinda got even more distracted.”

“Oh, alright. So, we’re good, right?” Yuliang asked, sounding more tentative than he would have any other day.

“Yeah, brother, we’re good.”

“Good, cuz I got us some apple pie, and if you were still mad, I wasn’t planning on giving you any.”

Yukio pulled back suddenly toppling the bloody water all over them, the bed and the floor.

“Oops, whatever I’ll take care of that later. You got me apple pie, brother? You baked it, right?” Yukio asked, looking at him with big hopeful amber eyes.

“Yeah, I baked an extra one at the store, especially for you. The apples are from here, so it’s probably not going as good as the ones back home, but it should be alright. The folks at the bakery didn't seem to find a problem with it, at least.”

Yukio threw his arms around him with a cry, “Oh my god, yes! Thank you, brother!”


	41. Day Off I

It was a rare cloudy autumn day for the city of Linos and an even more rare, day off for Yuliang.

He'd caught up with all his reports and the bakery was closed due the day being some regional holiday. So, for the first time in possibly a decade, Yuliang found himself with nothing to do.

He considered calling his brother, but decided against it in the end, since he remembered his brother mentioning that he had a lot of work to catch up on.

Yuliang was stumped.

It wasn't like he had a lot of friends here. The only people he considered himself to be on good terms with, that he wasn't related to or obligated to talk to were the people at the bakery, and... oh.

Eric.


	42. Day Off II

“You know, I think this is the first time I’ve seen you with your hair down,” Eric said in greeting. “Come in and take a seat. Did you already eat?”

Yuliang snorted, “Does it look weird or something? And no worries, brother, I already ate.”

“Doesn’t look weird, it suits you. You should wear it down more often,” Eric said, joining him on the couch with his breakfast. Scrambled eggs, sausage and toast.

“I would, but it’s more manageable for me to keep it in a braid. Especially considering I’m constantly running around the university.”

“Makes sense. How have you been, by the way? Been a while since I’ve heard from you.”

Yuliang just sighed, hugging his knees to his chest.

“That bad?”

“Not bad per se, I'm just tired. Been here a month and a half now, and I feel like…” he sighed again. “I don’t know. I’ve just been feeling kind of weird lately.”

Eric gave him a long look, “Weird? Like Lonely? Homesick? At least that’s how I felt in my first month here.”

Yuliang weighed each word thoughtfully in his mind for a few moments and nodded, “Yeah. That sound’s about right, but why? Things are going fine. I’m getting all my work done. I’m earning money with my part-time job. Professor Belmont seems satisfied with my work. And I’m starting to get used to things here too.”

Eric put his plate away on the coffee table to wrap an arm around Yuliang’s shoulder, then patiently waited for the omega to loosen up and relax into his touch. He was familiar with the younger man’s slow thawing response, so had no problem waiting as long as the other man needed.

Yuliang tucked his head onto the older man’s shoulder and took comfort in the other omega’s subtle sweet smell.

“You still want to go out? We can just stay in and watch a movie instead if you like?” Eric offered, pressing their foreheads together and playfully rubbing their noses. The action prompted a purr from the younger man, much to Yuliang’s mortification.

Eric giggled and responded with an affectionate purr of his own.

It was tempting. To just stay inside would mean being warm and safe, and getting all the affection and comfort he could ever want from the sweet-smelling older omega, but he hadn’t come here looking for comfort today, and who knew when the next time he’d have a free day would be?

Yuliang shook his head, “I want to go. I haven’t had a chance to see any of the city yet.”

Eric pressed a kiss to his cheek, “Up to you, honey. I’ll get dressed, then. Do the dishes for me, please?”

Yuliang laughed, “Sure. You might want to put on some extra scent-blockers. Your scent is extra-strong today.”

“Probably cuz my damn Heat’s coming up in two weeks,” Eric grumbled, pulling away from the younger omega with a reluctant groan.

“Hm. Did you apply for leave with Belmont?”

“Not yet, but remind me to on Monday?”

“Sure.”


	43. Day Off III

Many considered the Mauve river the lifeblood of Fiore. It wasn’t the longest river in the nation; that was the Bo river, but it was the river that connected all five regions of Fiore.

Though that wasn’t the only thing that made the river so distinct, because the waters of Mauve river, as its name would suggest, were purple. Something that modern science now understood to be due to the unique coral that grew on the lakebed, which released a chemical that reacted with the metals in the water, dying it purple.

“Can I drink it?” Yuliang asked.

“Don’t be an idiot, Yuliang. That’s unfiltered water. Even if the dye is harmless, the factory chemicals and all the trash in it would either make you sick or kill you.”

“What about swimming? Do people swim in it?”

“No! Not unless you want to test the effects of factory chemicals on your skin!”

What the hell was the point of a river you couldn’t either swim in or drink from directly? What did the animals around here do?

Drop-dead?

Honestly, this city had no problem spending money building infinitely tall towers that just obstructed the view and added even more pollution into the air at the drop of a hat, but they couldn’t spare even half of that on cleaning a damn river?

People had such fucked up priorities.

Eric sighed, “Everyone thinks you’re this incredible genius, but the more I get to know you, the more I start to question that.”

Yuliang snorted, “Not my fault people make assumptions about me. I’m not stupid, but I'm not some genius either. The only reason I’m as good as I am today is that I had the biggest baddest bitch in Fiore for a teacher. That woman pushed me fucking hard and didn’t let up till I got up and fucking pushed back.”

A cold gust of wind enveloped them, making Yuliangs long hair whip back dramatically as he leaned on the railing of the cliff’s edge overlooking the banks of the Mauve river.

He looked back at Eric only to find the other omega staring at him with a weird look on his face.

“What?”

Eric cocked his head and studied him with curious amber eyes. “I don’t think a lot of people usually notice, with your crappy clothes and how intimidating and grumpy you always look, but you’re kind of good looking,” Eric said. “Don’t get me wrong. I see you as the kid brother I never had, but objectively, you’re an attractive guy. If we ignore your personality.”

“Fuck you.”

“Seriously, you’ve got it all; nice face, nice body, nice ass, high career prospects. I’m surprised people from Society haven’t snatched you up already.”

Yuliang sneered, “The last thing I’m looking for is to get engaged.”

Eric laughed, “That’s because you’re still young, but trust me, you won’t get better offers than you will at this age. They prefer people who’d have an easier time learning and adapting to their customs and lifestyles joining the family than someone ‘old’ like me. From one omega to another, Yuliang, it’s something to start thinking about, even if you don’t accept any right now.”

Yuliang turned to glare fiercely into the purple waters sweeping in and out of the sandy banks with dark amber eyes.

This conversation was stupid. Everyone here talked to him as if he had moved to stay here permanently when in reality, he’d be back home by next February.

He’d sooner just drop everything and book the first ticket back to Mist Valley than get fucking engaged and stay in this concrete wasteland even a second longer than he had to.

He was already so on edge after suppressing himself for a full moon, too afraid to do anything that would draw attention to him, but now he knew that he’d already done by merely existing.

By merely being an omega.

By merely following his parents’ footsteps and becoming a Healer.

He liked and respected Eric.

The older omega filled a part of the void his parents’ death had left behind like no one ever had, but no one was going to push Yuliang fucking Davos to do anything he didn’t want to do.


	44. Confrontation

Seth Rydel leaned casually against the entrance to the Healing bay with an expression that had Yuliang’s hackles rising.

“You want something?” Yuliang asked coldly, amber eyes flashing.

Seth straightened up, standing at his full height of 6’3”, looking down at Yuliang with steely blue eyes.“Yeah. I want an explanation.” he said.

“Yeah? Here for an explanation for why I beat your bitch ass that day?” Yuliang baited, taking pleasure in the furious flush that took over the other man’s face.

“You were just lucky,” Seth grunted, “Caught me off guard. No way you would have beaten an Enforcer like me otherwise.”

Yuliang scoffed, “What Enforcer? You’re not even halfway through your training. Not that it matters. Enforcer or not, I’d still have beat your punk-ass for what you did.”

Suddenly, Yuliang was hit by a realization. A realization that his words were only escalating the situation, not resolving it like he had promised his brother. Yuliang paused and took a calming breath in the hope of taking the edge off his temper.

“Look, Rydel, I'm not looking for a fight with you. You just mind your own business and never approach my brother again, and we’ll get along just fine.”

Seth tsked, crossing his arms over his chest, blocking the door even more with the bulk of his body, “I don’t get what the big deal is. Me having sex with him has nothing to do with you.”

“The big deal is that my brother asked you whether you knew me, and for whatever reason, you said you didn’t. You fucking liar!” Yuliang snarled.

The words hung heavy in the air between them. Seth looked taken aback by the response, clearly expecting some shovel talk or jealousy driven bullshit from him instead, like some people in the past had.

Seriously, what was the purpose of hiding his acquaintance with Yuliang if he was trying to get with his brother?

Yuliang had never been someone who thought too deeply about other people’s motives when it came to their actions. He had always thought that sort of paranoid mindset led down the pathway to insanity, but this entire situation screamed of ulterior motives.

There was something else going on here, and it made him just want to grab his brother and hightail out of this fucked up city.

Taking another deep breath, Yuliang averted his eyes and forced himself to relax his posture, “Look, Rydel. Let’s put this behind us, yeah? You lied to my kin and paid the price, simple as that. No need for any more bad blood between us, yeah?”

He didn’t want to know or get involved with whatever the fuck Seth Rydel was, but he needed first to get this matter resolved and ensure that the man didn’t have any reason to bother his brother again afterward.

Yuliang couldn’t say what the other man was thinking, but he visibly relaxed once he heard his words.

The hostility still lay ingrained in every cell of his body, but Seth's expression softened a bit, “Alright," he agreed, "let’s put all this behind us.”


	45. Helping Elys II

Yuliang was on his way back to his apartment after a long day when he was stopped short by the sound of sobbing and water splashing.

The area he was currently in was one of the more secluded routes on campus, with a small lake obscured from direct sight by low hanging branches of weeping willows.

Yuliang didn’t think twice before pushing aside the branches and making his way to the source of the sound.

The sight he saw caught him off guard. The last thing he had expected to see was a dishevelled Elys Rydel fishing his stuff out of the dark shallows of the lake.

“A bit cold for an evening swim, don’t you think, Rydel?” Yuliang asked, sliding his robe off on the shore before wading into the icy waters without even a flinch and grabbing a floating paper.

Elys looked horrified, arms coming up to wipe at the tears that continued to roll down his face, “Yuliang! What are you doing here?" He hiccupped. "I can get my things myself, don’t worry. It was just an-an accident. I-I was the one that-”

“That tossed your things into the lake?” Yuliang asked drily. “Don’t take me for an idiot, Rydel. After we get everything out, I want you to come with me.”


	46. Helping Elys III

An hour after the encounter, Elys Rydel found himself in Yuliang's clean but sparsely furnished apartment, dry and dressed in a large purple hoodie, while drinking delicious warm soup that Yuliang had made just for him!

He subtly inhaled the collar of his sweater as deeply as he could. The sweet smell of citrus that occasionally wafts from the older omega during their after-class discussions clung to the fabric and did wonders calming his frayed nerves after the events of the day.

Truly, Yuliang was the most amazing omega Elys had ever met. 

Elys really admired him. 

He was everything Elys wanted to be; smart, strong and beautiful.

Yuliang was so smart that Elys was pretty sure the older man knew everything and anything to do with Healing. He could easily explain the stuff their stupid textbooks took hundreds of pages to explain, in like two sentences. And he did that while he was only seventeen! He was the same age as most of the morons in his classes!

He was also so beautiful with his long silky black hair, amber eyes and flawless dark brown skin. Elys couldn't help but visualise him as a panther personified... or a wolf. 

There was just something so elegant and deeply preditory about the man; the way he spoke, the way he moved and the way he acted that Elys found himself witholding the urge to whine and purr many times in the man's presence. They were acts he usually reserved for his family members, when he was feeling particularly affectionate close to the full moon, but Yuliang drew them out of him effortlessly. 

Elys had contemplated the possiblity of him being a Lycan many times, but on the off chance that he was wrong, he had to let his suspicions remain as they were. 

He directed his attention back to how absolutely gorgeous the older omega was. Yuliang always wore ill-fitting clothes, so none of them got to really see it, but when he had stripped his robes off at the small lake today, Elys had gotten a glypse of the strong and healthy body Yuliang hid under baggy clothes. He wasn't buff or as muscular and strong as his older brothers and father did, which was a given, since he was an omega but there was visible definition in his arms and legs that could be seen when the fabric of the man's sweater soaked and clung to him like a second skin. Elys' face burned up at the recollection. 

Yuliang's body reflected his strength more that Elys had expected it to. When he had seen the man carrying things for lessons twice his size and weight without even breaking a sweat, he had assumed that Yuliang, who was already just so amazing had mastered Kinaesthetic Energy manipulation as well and used that to strengthen his body, but after seeing the omega's body himself, it seemed that there was some natural strength involved as well along with kinaethetic manipulation. 

Yuliang's displays of strength that had actually inspired Elys to learn Kinaesthetic Energy manipulation as well, but when he asked his third brother Seth for advice, he had just laughed been laughed at and gotten told him to go back to playing with his dolls.

Which was stupid, because Elys hadn't played with dolls since he was nine. Seth was such a dumb-dumb and Elys didn't even know why he bothered asking that Jerkface.

Usually, he would have gone to his second brother for advice instead, but Lorcan was busy these days with his work at the Force. His second choice, Conrad was in Ebren these days and asking either of his parents was just pointless. They were more likely to yell at him and lecture him about how he should just focus on being a Healer and not bother with brutish things like that or something. Now Elys was just waiting for the next time he saw Lorcan at home to ask him for help, like he originally should have. 

Speaking of home...

His attention was drawn back to his present situation and Elys was once more overwhelmed by the realization that he was in Yuliang's home, right now./p>

"You're probably used to better food than this back home, but it's the best I could do," Yuliang said, joining him at the table with a bowl of soup for himself.

Elys vehemently shook his head, "Not at all! I love it! Tastes much better than what I eat at home."

Yuliang snorted, and his lips curled up, "I'm not sure if that's a compliment to my cooking or an insult to your chef, but thanks I guess."

Elys felt awe, as he usually did when the usually dour omega expressed any form of amusement. Yuliang had such a beautiful smile. It was a shame Elys couldn't see it more often. In a strange moment of clarity, Elys wondered; did he want to have him or did want to be him?


	47. Helping Elys IV

"Is this a one-time thing, or is fishing your things out of a lake in the cold going to become a common occurrence with you?" Yuliang asked as he rinsed the dishes.

It was around 4 in the evening, but with winter just around the corner, it was starting to get dark already.

He was probably going to have to draft a formal correspondence of some sort with Elys' parents to explain his absence, but with Elys spending increasingly frequent amounts of time after class with him these days, it shouldn't be too much of an issue.

"It isn't anything serious, Yuliang. My brother and I just had a disagreement. Things usually end up like this," Elys said, earnestly from where he was seated on the other side of the kitchen island, watching him with big blue eyes and his face cradled in hands.

Yuliang considered the words with a frown. He turned off the water, and after letting the excess water drip into the sink, placed the bowl in the drying rack.

"You mean Seth?"

Elys nodded a dark expression crossing his face. "Yeah, Seth."

"So, whenever you argue, your brother just... What? Ruins all your belongings by tossing them into the nearest lake he can find?" Yuliang asked, unable to keep the incredulity out of his voice. 

Did people value nothing these days? 

Elys shook his head, "He usually just pushes me around and scares me a little with his friends, but they usually just watch while we argue. Nothing I'm not used to."

Yuliang's frown deepened. He did understand sibling rivalry. He and his brother don't see eye to eye too often for them not to fight. Hell, when they were kids, their fights included beating each other up as well, but they had outgrown that aspect of their conflict when their strength difference became too big. It had gotten to a point where the fights had become so one-sided that they bordered on abuse, instead of the physical venting of frustration that it was meant to be.

Yuliang might get into a fair amount of scuffles, but that was only when provoked or in self-defence. 

He was a protector, not a fucking abuser. 

When looking at the sitution with that frame of mind, the situation between Elys and Seth made him uneasy. 

It all seemed very one-sided, didn't it?

Seth Rydel was 19 years old. An adult. He was in the Enforcer program, and therefore physically superior. Who wouldn't be if they could use Energy to enhance their body beyond physical limits.

On the other hand, Elys Rydel was 13 years old. A child. He was a student Healer. Someone who learned to Heal people, not to defend himself. 

Elys also mentioned that Seth had his friends both spectate during their confrontations. So in these situations, Elys wasn't just outpowered by his brother, he was also outnumbered.

Yeah, Yuliang could see how this power imbalance would be on that weird grey area between abuse and healthy conflict.

"You guys fight often?" Yuliang asked, drying his hands on a hand towel. He turned back to elaborate his quation, but ended up bursting out laughing instead.

Elys looked mortified. His face flushed a bright red, and the teen immediately straightening out his sweater as if Yuliang hadn't just caught him with his nose buried into the fabric and sniffing at it deeply a moment ago.

"I'm sorry," Elys squeaked, hands reaching up to cover his face.

Yuliang chewed his lip in an attempt to get his amusement under control but still ended up doubling over in laughter anyways.

"Oh, fuck! I'm sorry, gimme a second, I'll stop."

Yuliang forced himself to sober up when the blond's eyes began tearing up.

"Relax, Elys. Finding comfort in the smell of another omega after an upsetting situation is completely normal. Why do you think I gave you a worn sweater instead of a washed one? Picked that one especially because my scent was the strongest on it."

Elys looked shocked. "I'm wearing a shirt you wore?" he asked softly.

Yuliang wrinkled his nose, "Yeah, I probably should have thought that one through a bit more. I didn't think it made too much of a difference since you'd have to take a shower when you got home anyway. Did you want me to grab you a clean one instead?"

"No!" Elys exclaimed, fisting to the purple fabric like a lifeline. Then he looked up at him with eager blue eyes, Yuliang had absolutely zero defences against. "Could I please have this sweater? Please?" he pleaded, sweetly. So sweetly that Yuliang could practically taste honey in his mouth.

"Uh. Don't you think it's a bit too big for you?"

The intensity of Elys' stare went up a notch, "Yeah, but people wear big sweaters all the time! It's a trend. I really really like this one. Can I please have it? I'll pay you for it," the blond bargained.

Yuliang scoffed, "I'd never take money from a kid. Don't worry about that, it's yours."

The teen looked so pleased with himself that Yuliang was tempted to laugh again, but he held himself back remembering that they had been in the middle of an important discussion before.

"You didn't answer my question yet. Do you and your brother fight often?"

Elys hesitated for a moment before slowly nodding. "Seth and I never got along, but after I started coming to UMed, he became even worse than before. I'm honestly just happy that I have all my files and most of my notes backed up because all my notes are ruined and my Netscreen didn't turn on when I tried to before. Pretty sure it's broken."

Being reminded of the damaged property and the littered lake had Yuliang scowling once more.

"Don't waste any money getting new textbooks, I have online copies that you can use."

"But I can afford it," Elys protested.

"Doesn't mean you should waste your money that way," Yuliang said with a disapproving look. "If everyone just kept buying textbooks, how many more trees would have to be cut down to keep up with the demand. When possible, always invest in ways that damage the environment the least."

"Oh, I didn't really think of it that way. I promise I'll be more mindful about it from now on," Elys said sincerely.

Yuliang deigned him with a small smile, "Good. Also, you should probably contact your driver now. It's getting pretty late. Your parents are probably worried sick."

As for the situation with Seth, Yuliang would keep an eye on it. Usually, Yuliang wouldn't even think about getting personally involved in other people's business this way, but Elys was his student and therefore Elys' well being, at least on campus, was Yuliang's responsibility.


	48. The Second Brother

Elys skipped up the stone steps of the Rydel manor with a big smile on his face. One that widened even more, when he saw who was waiting at the front doors for him.

“Lorcan!” He squealed, running up to the man and throwing his arms around him. “I missed you!”

The man chuckled, ruffling the blond's hair. “I missed you too, Elys. Sorry for not being around these days.”

Elys shook his head, burying his face into his brother’s strong chest and inhaling his comforting scent deeply. “It’s okay. I know you were busy with work. I'm just happy to see you again.”

“You were late today,” Lorcan said, readjusting his grip on the teen and walking them inside.

Elys grinned, pulling back to look his favourite brother in the eyes, “I usually stay back after class for extra help, but today's lesson was a bit difficult, so I ended up staying longer than usual.” He couldn’t tell Lorcan what happened. He didn't want to be responsible for his brothers fighting again.

Lorcan looked at him with amused brown eyes. “You asked for extra help? Really? That doesn’t sound like you at all, Elys,” he teased.

Elys huffed, lip jutting out in a pout. “Wrong. I just don’t ask idiots for help. Yuliang is not an idiot. He’s the smartest, most amazing guy in Fiore.”

His older brother smirked, “Yuliang, hmm? Who’s that? Your crush?”

Elys flushed bright red, and let out an outraged squawk. “No! Yuliang’s my practicals teacher. He’s an omega!”

Lorcan laughed, “Is that so?”

“Yeah. Though, if I liked omegas, I bet I'd have the biggest crush on Earth on him. He’s just so amazing, Lorcan. I want to be just like him when I’m older,” Elys gushed. He slid off his brother’s lap to sit beside him when Lorcan seated them on the lounge room couch. “And you know, he’s only seventeen too!”

Lorcan looked suitably impressed at the fact, but Elys felt like his brother was mostly humouring him, “Really?" Lorcan asked, his grin betraying his half-teasing. "He’s only seventeen, and he’s teaching at your university?”

Elys nodded, playing with the sleeves of his sweater. “He’s doing an internship under Professor Belmont so that he could do the Certification exam next year.”

Lorcan looked thoughtful, “Oh, that’s very ambitious of him. What Family is he from?”

Elys laughed, “That’s the thing, Lorcan, he’s not from a Family. He’s a commoner from Sundan!”

That got him a more sincere look of interest. “Really? Are you sure?”

“Yeah. His last name is Davos. He’s not affiliated with any Family either, not even the Belmonts, even though he's Interning under your friend. Yuliang told me that he didn’t even know who Emil was, until he met him on his first day here. So, Yuliang's an actual common-born omega.”

Lorcan looked genuinely surprised. “Well, that does make him quite impressive.” Then he frowned. “Impressive enough that Society might end up a warzone if he ends up Certifying.”

A matching frown formed on Elys’ face. “Oh, you're right. I didn’t think of that.”

Among the upper class of Fiore, which could be separated into three different factions, omegas were coveted but for different reasons:

The entrepreneurs, simply desired omegas for their rarity.

The Talents; the musicians, the actors, the artists, desire omegas for the increased visibility and status they would provide them among their peers.

The nobility; the 21 Noble and five Founding Families of Fiore, was a mixed bag. They coveted omegas partly because of desire, but mostly they because of necessity.A necessity that none of Fiore's general populace could never understand.

“Do you think I should I warn him?” Elys asked, chewing his lip out of worry. The last thing he wanted was to see Yuliang unknowingly get snatched up from right under his nose.

Lorcan patted his brother’s head with a reassuring smile, “He’s working with Belmont. I’m sure Emil will look out for him; that man’s as honourable as they come.”

Elys wrinkled his nose. “I hate to agree with jerkface Seth, Lorcan, but I still don’t understand how you could be friends with someone from the Belmont family.”

His brother laughed, “Elys, that man has saved my life so many times over my years in the Force. I think the real question would be, how I could possibly be enemies with such a man. Judge a man based on their actions, not their name.”

Elys mulled over the words. He supposed that was fair. “I’ll try.”

“Good. By the way Elys, did you start using a new perfume?”

“What, no. I haven't even showered today yet actually. Why?”

“Well, you smell really nice .”


	49. Brotherly Love IX

Yuliang glared fiercely, his eyes blazing like embers. Yukio was too used to that soul severing glare to react to it with anything other than a smirk.

“What, brother? You’re the one that told me to get a part-time job to support my luxury lifestyle. So, I found the highest paying one out there,” Yukio said over his shoulder before returning to perfecting the wing of his eyeliner.

Yuliang growled, “Yeah, but I told you to get an actual job. Not to become an actual slut!”

Yukio waited patiently for his brother’s temper to lower to a simmer before speaking. He knew Yuliang wouldn’t take the news easy, but Yukio knew his brother too well not to win this battle. 

Yuliang valued honesty and grit. He would come around as long as Yukio didn’t waver in his decision and showed resilience under scrutiny.

“Relax, brother. I’m not being paid for sex, just my time. I’m not freelancing. I’m working under a reputable company here. There are strict rules in place for workers and customers to ensure our safety. I’ll send a copy of my contract tonight for you. The contract’s negotiable, so, if you think I missed something, just let me know and I’ll get it renegotiated,” Yukio said calmly, looking his brother in the eye.

Yuliang huffed and turned away, “Fine.”

Yukio was surprised. That’s it? His brother had never given into an argument that quick ever! Yuliang was as stubborn and bullheaded as they came.

“Do whatever the fuck you want. Just don’t come crying to me later when you get fucked over. Accept and live with the consequences that come with your choices, Yukio.”


	50. Baking with Norma II

Yuliang was checking on the chocolate chip cookies in the oven when his co-worker Mina popped into the kitchen.

“I heard the craziest rumour about you the other day,” she said, plopping onto a stool and stealing a cookie from a previously finished batch.

Determining that his current batch could do with baking a bit longer, Yuliang secured the oven door. He gave the Estish girl a wary look and said, “I think I’d rather not know.”

Mina scoffed, “Too bad because I came here to get a confirmation from you. Is it true that you were dating Seth Motherfucking Rydel, but then broke up with him after you caught him cheating on you with your twin?”

Yuliang choked, “What?

“Is it true-”

Yuliang held his hand up, “No. Stop. I heard what you said, but where the fuck did that come from?”

“So, you didn’t catch him screwing your brother? You guys are still dating?”

Yuliang’s face twisted in a mixture of anger and disgust, “I wouldn’t date Seth Motherfucking Rydel even if he were the last person on Earth and how the fuck do people know even about that?” 

Mina looked taken aback, “So it's true. Oh my gosh, Yuliang, I’m so sorry. I didn't know. I thought it was just a rumour. That was very insensitive of me to ask when everything’s so fresh.”

“What? No. That’s not what I meant-”

“Don’t deny it, you’re allowed to be upset. I had a boyfriend that cheated on me too, and it hurts me to know that now you’re hurting in the same way. If you need anyone to talk to, just know that I’m here for you.”

Overhearing the conversation as she walked in, Norma turned to Yuliang with sympathetic eyes, “Your boyfriend cheated on you? Oh, you poor darling, come here, let Norma hug you.”

Yuliang felt trapped between a rock and a hard place.

He tried to clear up this misunderstanding, but neither of them looked ready to listen.


	51. Emergency I

Yuliang was in the middle of guiding Lilou Walker through the step-by-step process of Healing an open wound when they were interrupted by a knock from the other side of the transparent classroom wall.

Yuliang excused himself.

"Anything I can help you with, Professor?"

Belmont looked haggard; pallid skin, dark circles and a glance at the man's hands showed visible tremors; all signs of Energy exhaustion.

"Yes, follow me. I'll brief you on the way."


	52. Emergency II

“There was an explosion in the city. The other hospitals are full, so the excess has been redirected here.” The two of them sped through the corridors of the mazelike building to the hospital wing while Belmont spoke through strained breaths. 

“I have the fifth and sixth years taking care of the minor cases, but I don’t have enough experienced Healers to take on the critical patients. Eric and Clare are already there, but I couldn’t manage to get my calls through to you.”

“I have my phone turned off during class, sir.”

Belmont sighed, “Well, keep your phone on at all times from now on. I don’t want to be in this situation again. Lives are at stake, here.”


	53. Emergency III

The moment Yuliang Davos entered the Intensive Care Unit, everything changed. The air that had been previously heavy with the smell of burnt flesh and hair became less oppressive and fresher. The breathing of the unconscious patients, whose breathing had been strained and wheezy, began to ease. Along with that, their minor scrapes and bruises Healed instantly.

In his 33 years of life, Emil had never seen anything like it and from the confused murmurs and shocked gasps from the surrounding areas, neither had anyone else.

The young man himself seemed to enter a trance-like state, his entire body enveloping in a soft green glow. He then began moving. He shoved people out of the way and headed towards the nearest bed, where Senior Healer Yukimura was already present.

He shoved her out of the way too, much to everyone’s disbelief.

Yuliang then reached out to touch the prone form of the man. He made contact with a bare point of skin, and a green glow enveloped the man’s body as well.

He moved once more.

This time, people were quick to move out of the way.

The process was repeated.

Emil ignored the protests of his sore Energy exhausted body and approached the first bed.

“Professor Belmont,” his colleague murmured in disbelief, as they stood side by side, watching the man's body Heal itself right before their eyes.


	54. Emergency IV

Yuliang remained in that state for hours. Until the trickle of patients going in and out of the ward came to a stop. When it did, he promptly collapsed to the ground, like a puppet with his strings cut.

Eric immediately rushed over to assess his vitals.

“He’s fine. Just collapsed from exhaustion,” He told Emil.

Emil acknowledged his student’s assessment with a dip of his head and bent to collect the sprawled figure of his youngest Intern.

Every single muscle in his body burned agonizingly at the action, but Emil pushed through it with deep breaths and stood with a grunt.

The young man was just as heavy as he looked. 5’10 and firm muscle from what Emil could assume was a lifetime of physical labour. Yuliang wasn't the type to spend hours working out at the gym, and he doubted there were even any gyms in Myst Valley, Sundan.

Another Healer pulled the bloody sheets off a nearby free bed and promptly flipped the mattress over for him to lay Yuliang's unconscious figure.

He dropped Yuliang onto it with a grunt.

Eric shifted his friend to rest his head on a pillow and quietly murmured to the Healer close to him, sending her off to grab whatever he’d requested.

Emil slumped onto the end of the bed and waited for the other Healers to gather closer.

“Bellmont, I have been searching through all of our research and the closest I could find to what Junior Healer Davos performed today is the Circular Chain technique,” Senior Healer Branson said, still scrolling through his Netscreen with an annoyed grimace etched into his face.

“That's the one where a Healer has every patient making contact and channels their channels their Energy two ways, right?” Senior Healer Yukimura asked.

“Yeah. It was a technique discovered by Healer Belmont’s Mentor, Honourable Healer... Davos. Wait-”

Emil sighed, “She’s his grandmother.”

A murmur of surprise rippled through the Healers gathered.

“Well, that explains a lot, doesn’t it. I was wondering why you, of all people, suddenly decided to take on Interns this year. Let alone a seventeen year old without a degree,” his longest-serving colleague, Healer Mcguire murmured to him quietly.

“More than five years of experience working as a Licensed Healer would negate the point of a degree, don’t you think?” Emil retorted.

“He must be a Natural Healer, like yourself and Lord Mikhail Romanov.”

The name of his long-time rival and fellow aristocrat brought a harsh scowl to Emil’s face, “I suppose, but I’ve seen Yuliang Heal before, and he’s a lot less controlled than Mikhail was at his age," he grudgingly admitted. "Mikhail leaves no trace when he Heals. He just gets results. Yuliang, like he showed today, doesn’t have any control over his Energy discharge.”

Yukimura disagreed, “Not having perfect Energy control, doesn’t negate him being a Natural, Belmont.”

Branson cut their debate short with a groan, “Does it matter what he is? What I want to know is how he did it. Not only did he somehow figure out remote Healing, but he also maintained it for over nine hours! How is that even physically possible?”


	55. Awareness I

Yuliang woke up to a bed full of people.

Yukio and Eric on either side of him and Elys draped over him like a blanket, purring away into his chest.

The four of them were squeezed into his apartment’s double-sized bed, practically suffocating him with their combined presence, but Yuliang only felt bone-deep satisfaction and the rumble of a satisfied purr deep in his chest.

Surrounded by the sweet scents and comfort of his Pack, Yuliang sighed and drifted back to sleep with a smile.


	56. Awareness II

The next time Yuliang woke up, it was to murmuring.

He squinted at the blinding light of day and pulled himself up to a sitting position with a grunt. He didn’t know how long it had been this time, but the staleness in his mouth, the gunky feeling of his eyes, the ripe odour of sweat and citrus that clung to his body and previous experience led him to believe that it had been a while.

“Yuliang!”

“You’re awake!”

Yuliang grunted, offering Eric and Elys a jerky nod.

“I’m fine. Just going to go take a shower. Feel fucking disgusting right now,” Yuliang said offhandedly as he stiffly shuffled out of the room.


	57. Awareness III

“Ok, so I get that I was unconscious and needed people to take care of me, but what are you doing here, Elys?”

Eric and Elys exchanged glances.

“You were the one that asked him to stay, Yuliang.”

Well, that was unexpected. His first memory of being lucid had been the previous night.

“I see. Sorry for the trouble then, Elys.”

“It’s no trouble at all, Yuliang. I’m just honoured you consider me Pack!” Elys stated, passionately.

Eric met Yuliang's eyes and offered him a reassuring smile. He then placed a steady hand on Elys’ shoulder. “Woah their, Elys, Yuliang just woke up. You’re going to put him right back to sleep from shock if you aren't careful,” Eric said brightly.

Elys slapped over his mouth, blue eyes wide and apologetic. “Oh, I am so sorry. Yukio was so clear about not saying anything until he explained first, too.” He whimpered, “I’m so sorry, Eric, I completely forgot.

“It’s alright. He’ll be here soon, so no harm.”

Yuliang levelled his student and colleague with a long stare, feeling shaken and very very confused.

“What the fuck are you guys talking about.”


	58. Awareness IV

It had been the most stressful week of Yukio’s life, and he couldn’t believe his brother slept through all of it, leaving him to deal with the aftermath of his actions alone.

Well, not alone.

He had Yuliang’s friends Eric, Elys and his friend-no. His boyfriend, Zander, to support him through it as well. So he had managed, but still, everything going on was just all too much for a country boy like him.

He’d never had to deal with anything like this before.

Yukio reached up to make sure his mask, shades and hood were still securely in place, properly obscuring his features in his the reverse camera of his phone before he stepped out of his dorm.

All necessary precautions now, when one shared a face with Yuliang Davos.


	59. Awareness V

Yuliang was leaning up against the wall, staring up at the ceiling, processing the load of information his brother had just presented to him in his two-hour long rant.

Against his expectations, he had only been unconscious for a week. Which is insane. The last time Yuliang had performed Energy Transcendence, the Energy drain had knocked him out for about two and a half weeks, and that had only involved two people.

This time, he'd performed it on a shit-tonne more people for who knows how long, and he'd only needed a week to recover?

Un-fucking-believable.

He needed to get the details from someone. He needed to record this phenomenon in his journal to discuss with granny when he got back.

On the other, more annoying, hand, he was somehow famous now. Yuliang didn't know how to handle that bit of information right now.

The bulk of Yukio's complaints had involved being accosted by random people and reporters. It had gotten to the point that Yukio began obscuring his face before leaving his dorm.

Yuliang's stomach filled with a mix of anger and anxiety. Anger at people that harassed his brother and worry that he will potentially have to experience it himself.

The situation had even escalated to the point where their university had to end up temporarily banning public access, due to the disturbance to the students. 

Yuliang understood that fame generally went hand in hand with being a Healer. There were too few Healers in the country for any Healer to not be a big deal, but the level of attention Yukio was describing was a little premature, wasn't it? Shouldn't this happen after he gets Certified? What exactly had he done to get so much attention? Yuliang didn't get it.

"I know you were doing your job, brother, but couldn't you have gone with a less obscure method to Heal people?" Yukio asked, looking like he had aged ten years.

Well, that might explain it. Yuliang shrugged, "Too many people were dying. I did what I had to."

Eric made a thoughtful sound, "Hm. How would you know that, Yuliang? You barely stepped inside."

"It smelled like death," Yuliang said. He'd spent too much around the dead and the dying in his life to not begin associating a smell with it. A suffocating odour created by a person's cells decaying as the Energy leaked out of their body.

"The smell of death?" Elys repeated, looking at him with big curious blue eyes.

Yuliang nodded. "Yeah. When you're more experienced, you'll be able to detect the subtle signs emitted by the bodies too."

Eric sighs, "I keep forgetting that you're the only one between us with real-world experience working as a Healer."

Yuling shrugged again. What could he say to that? He was used to being underestimated for his age.

Then his attention was drawn back to the matter of the two omegas.

This took a bit more time to comprehend, but Yuliang tried simplifying it the best he could.

The Rydel family were Lycans.

Eric had been spending time with the Rydel family because their families were in talks for arranging an engaged between Eric and the oldest brother, Conrad Rydel. So when Eric had to excuse himself from a meeting after getting a text from Yukio-they had apparently exchanged numbers during Yuliang's transfer to his apartment- Elys had overheard and insisted on coming with him.

This was where things got a bit... complicated.

During their visit, somehow Yuliang had regained consciousness and shocked the shit out of everyone by transforming into his wolf form.

Unfortunately, he hadn't stopped there, because, in his semi-conscious state, Yuliang had crossed like a hundred lines and Claimed them. 

The clear jagged imprints of sharp teeth on the back of Elys's ecstatically bared neck and the fresher looking scarring on Eric's left shoulder stood out sharply against the paleness of their skin.

Yuliang remembered none of it, but he was unable to stop the embarrassing rumbling purr that the sight evoked, garnering laughs from the three omegas present.

Yuliang shrugged, "I might not have been completely aware at the time, but my instincts have never been wrong. If I claimed you, it's because you were mine, to begin with."

Elys buried his face in his hands, muffling incoherent words.

Eric laughed again, "Gosh, Yuliang. Warn a guy before you say things like that!"

Yuliang looked at his brother in confusion.

Had his words been too harsh?

Yukio just rolled his eyes in response to his unasked question, assuring him that wasn't the case.

Not too concerned, Yuliang inhaled deeply. Sweet notes of lavender and sandalwood alongside the more familiar scent of apples. The base scents of his packmates, more potent than he had experienced before, invaded his nose.

Claiming meant that they were now his to care for and his to protect. It also meant that their scents were now deeply ingrained in his brain. His senses would now be so in tune with their scents that, even in his human form, Yuliang's sense of smell would be able to detect even the faintest trace of it in the air.

Yuliang's teeth began to throb, his eyes began to tingle, and his bones started to ache.

A trace of his tongue allowed him to feel his canines sharpened into points and a tremble runs through his boy. His body automatically shifted to recline on the bed with a sigh as he embraced his first conscious transformation in three months.


	60. Awareness VI

“The fuck you mean you ran away from home?” Yuliang demanded, eyeing the blond incredulously.

Elys huffed, putting his fork down and crossing his arms over his chest, “What else could I possibly do? They were going to replace your claim! ”

Yuliang growled. “Fuck that. Stay here as long as you like, then.”

Elys grinned. 

Yukio sighs beside his brother, “Brother, no. You can’t just kidnap a child-”

“I’m not a child!”

“-because their parents didn’t consent to your Claim. Elys, we had an agreement. You agreed to go back after brother woke up.”

Elys glared at his teacher’s inferior copy. It had come as a shock when he found that the person he considered unique in every way had an identical twin, but after interacting with Yuliang’s brother, he was only able to prove further precisely how one of a kind Yuliang Davos indeed was.

Yukio might have better conduct and manners than his brother did, but Elys had spent too long among Society not to see through his thin mask of politeness.

Elys didn’t like the man one bit, but he was Yuliang’s brother, and it was apparent his teacher cared for him. So he forced himself to tolerate the other man.

“Fine, I’ll go back, but I won't let them reclaim me!”

Yuliang's face in response to his words could only be described as smug approval.

Elys had a hard time maintaining his serious expression, filled to the brim with the urge to express the happiness Yuliang’s acceptance made him feel, but he managed to remain composed.

“Relax, brother,” Yuliang drawled, jabbing a fork full of spaghetti in his brother’s direction.

It was a show of atrocious etiquette, and if Elys had done anything like it back home, he would have received such awful lecturing for it, but coming from Yuliang the act looked like something to be admired instead of criticized.

Yuliang’s next words snapped him back to reality. “I’ll drop him off tonight. See his folks and make sure everything’s clear between us.”

Elys felt lightheaded from how fast the blood rushed to his face.

Had he heard right?

Had Yuliang just said what Elys thought he said?

Yuliang was going to meet his parents?


	61. Professor Belmont and the Interns V

The first thing Yuliang did after breakfast was barge into Belmont’s office.

“Mornin’ professor. You busy?”

If Belmont was surprised by his abrupt entrance, the man didn’t show it. Instead, he calmly cleared the documents on the table and gestured to the seat across him. “Not at all, Yuliang. Come in, take a seat.”

“Nah, not here for a chat. I just wanted to let you know that I can start taking classes from tomorrow.”

Belmont’s expression became firm, “There’s much that I need to discuss with you. Sit.”

Yuliang bit back the urge to tell the older man to fuck off and forced himself to comply.

Professor Belmont might allow for a lot of his ‘casual disrespect,’ as Eric puts it, but Yuliang knew better than to disobey a direct order from him.

Yuliang crossed his arms over his chest. “What?” he sneered, tapping his foot against the tile.

Belmont clasped his hands and leaned onto his elbows. “I want an explanation. What exactly did you do that day?”

Yuliang’s brows furrowed, “What did I do?”

“The technique you used to Heal the patients, what was it?”

Yuliang rolled his eyes and sat back in the armchair with a sigh.

The Professor further elaborated. “You’ve got everyone in the university stumped. Was it an obscure technique of some sort, or a discovery? I confess. I’m not familiar with anything like it”

Yuliang snorted. “I guess it’s a bit obscure.”

“So, you discovered a new technique?”

Yuliang scoffed, “Fuck no. Granny was the one that taught it to me.”


	62. Professor Belmont and the Interns VI

“It's called Energy Transcendence. You got to submerge your conscience into the uh-fifth dimension; the Energy Dimension. Makes the presence of all Energy visible and tangible.”

Emil had to suspend his disbelief as he diligently took notes. He was aware of the fifth dimension, but only in theory. He had read many papers on the potential having access to it would provide Healers and other Energy Manipulators, but this was the first time he’d heard of anyone actually being successful.

“Then you tap into people’s Energy cores and prompt accelerated Healing,” Yuliang concluded.

Emil paused. “Tap into people’s Energy cores?” he asked.

Yuliang shrugged, “Not something I’d recommend doing very often. Massive Energy drain. Getting knocked out a week is me getting off lightly.”

Emil wasn’t sure how to reply to that. On one hand, this Energy Transcendence procedure was revolutionary. Something that would change Healing as a whole if properly researched and understood, but on the other, he had no rights to any of it.

Had Yuliang taken credit for it, Emil could have negotiated something with his mentor-brother. He could have taken this further and published something that would cement his name in Fiore’s history books.

Unfortunately, Energy Transcendence was a discovery credited to Master Hala and Emil would never disservice her by stealing her work. 

An annoyed sigh from Yuliang drew Emil out of his thoughts, “Are we good now? Can I go?”

Honestly, Emil had no idea how someone like Master Hala could be related to such an ill-mannered person. Yuliang was lucky Emil had such respect for his grandmother, or he would have terminated Yuliang's internship a long time ago.


	63. The Rydel Estate I

The Rydel estate was just as large and ostentatious as a person would expect of an aristocratic family.

The property had been owned by the family for generations and maintained privacy due to its location in the more sparsely populated eastern city boundary.

Eric remembered how amazed and slackjawed the sight of the grounds and the manor had left him.

For someone who had been born and raised in the city his whole life, being here had been like something straight out of a movie.

Now with a thick layer of snow covering the expansive grounds and walking down the salt-covered cobblestone pathway leading to the manor seasonally decorated with silver and gold fairy lights, it felt more like stepping into a winter wonderland than someone’s home.

To this day he couldn’t believe that not only would this place be his home one day but his property too when his future husband inherited it.

Unlike what the awe he’d expected to see from his country-bumpkin of a friend, Yuliang looked just as unimpressed as he did on any other day.

When their eyes met, he offered him a reassuring smile which was acknowledged by a small twitch of lips.

The jagged imprint on his shoulder burned and Eric was helpless to the small kernel of resentment that lit up within him.

He breathed through it.

“Well, let’s not keep them waiting. I’m sure everyone’s been out of their minds with worry for Elys,” he said brightly.


	64. The Rydel Estate II

“Mr.Davos, it’s a pleasure to finally meet the omega our son speaks of so highly,” Lord Rydel stated, once they were seated in one of the manor’s lounge rooms.

A more simply decorated room than the one Eric remembered having been hosted in when he had arrived previously with his family for engagement discussions, but still holding on to tasteful and opulence.

Yuliang’s reply was blunt, completely lacking the courtesy and deference expected of commoners interacting with nobility. “I’m just here to sort out the mess. Let’s save the pointless talk for another day.”

Eric wanted to smack him.

Undeniably, Yuliang was one of the most brilliant Healers of their generation, but unfortunately, when it came to everything else, he was an actual idiot.

Whatever many flaws he had, and let it be said that Eric had many, at least he didn’t have the manners of a drunk elephant.

“I see you are not a man for pleasantries, Mr.Davos,” Second Lord Davos said softly, cutting through the tension with a polite smile on his peerless face.

Reginald Davos née Lancaster was a beauty among beauties. 

The envy of omegas all over Fiore.

The man that charmed the notoriously indifferent aristocrat, Lord Killian Rydel.

A man who’d sworn off any romance after his first wife had run off with a visiting Ebrenian dignitary who she’d been having an affair with for years.

Eric remembered watching the extravagant wedding on television. 

It had been broadcasted on all major channels and the build-up to it had been massive. Any major event about members of Founding Families was a big deal in Fiore among all people, not just the upper-class. It had come with its controversies too, of course, such as the large 33 year age difference between the couple, but to an Energy Manipulator of Lord Rydel's level, age would truly have been a mere number. 

Now 66 and appearing just as ageless as he did decades ago, Lord Rydel was handsome, with his strong features and powerful physique, but in the country of Fiore where exotic beauty came in abundance with its diversity, Lord Rydel's standard dark hair and dark eyes make him comparatively plain.

Though, when combined with the blond and green-eyed beauty of his husband, the Rydel Lords made a striking pair. 

At eleven years old, Eric vividly remembered watching their wedding ceremony in the living room of their old two-bedroom apartment ejected from the couch to the floor by his older and stronger siblings and cousins who took up all the couch space. Many extended family members had come to Linos from Estin and Norden in hopes of being closer to the official event. 

He remembered how dreamlike and magical it had been just to see it through a screen, and how he'd wished with all his heart that since he couldn't be Richard, he'd at least look as beautiful as Lord Lancaster and marry a man as impressive as Lord Rydel in the future. 

Now here he was, at 24, practically engaged to Second Lord Rydel’s stepson and heir to the Rydel dynasty, belatedly realizing his new Pack leader's social incompetence and the potential risk it held for his future.


	65. The Rydel Estate III

“Mother, father, please respect my decision and let me officially join Yuliang’s Pack!” Elys proclaimed. His trembling and moist palms gripped the grey pleats of the skirt he’d strategically worn that night tightly.

Before coming he’d even taken the time to properly doll up. Neatly pinning back his growing blond hair, and applying the barest amount of makeup; mascara and lip gloss.

The less rebellious he appeared, the more receptive his parents had always been to his requests.

His father would be the tougher nut to crack, but previous experience had always proved that as long as he could completely sway his mother, his father would eventually follow.

“What are you saying Elys? How could you possibly expect me to allow you to be further under the influence of a man that goes around transforming and biting people as he wishes! Mr. Davos, you ask to address this matter immediately, then that is exactly what we shall do. You will remove the Claim from my son and as well as our oldest’s future betrothed and never have contact with either of them again!” Lord Rydel declared coldly, directing a piercing look at the equally cold faced Yuliang.

There was a sinking feeling at the pit of Eric’s stomach, one that he covered up by indignation. “Father, no! You can’t!” he exclaimed. His body twitched in preparation to stand, but a firm hand on his thigh, preventing his rise.

“Never heard of taking back a Claim before, is that a new thing or something?” Yuliang asked, conversationally, getting to his feet himself instead. “Whatever doesn’t matter.”

Elys looked at his teacher- Pack Leader’s back with wide blue eyes. Irrational hope surging within him.

But, what on Earth was Yuliang doing?

Yuliang pressed his palms together at chest level and bowed.

He rose.

He spoke.

“My name is Yuliang Davos. Seventeen years old. I’m currently a Licensed Healer interning under Professor Emil Belmont. I am willing to negotiate Pack authority over matters relating to Elys and Eric,” a steely glint entered amber eyes, “with the understanding that my Claim is non-negotiable.”


	66. The Rydel Estate IV

Things with the Rydels were not going as smoothly as Yuliang had hoped.

Though Yuliang did wonder why they even bothered to invite them in when their discussions ended as abruptly and heated as they usually did.

He had visited another three times over two weeks; the last two with Yukio in tow to take the softer angle to balance his firm one.

A battle of wills and wits was the only time he could ever call his brother for back up.

While Yukio’s charm hadn’t managed to crack through the stubborn bastard Lord Rydel’s thick skull, he had managed to soften it. The Second Lord, on the other hand, was practically being fed off the palm of his brother’s hand, with how enamoured he had become with Yukio.

Yuliang glared at Lord Rydel across the table as he bit into a perfectly cooked succulent piece of roast. The Lord met his stare with one of equal measure as they both silently consumed their dinner after Second Lord Rydel had politely threatened them in words even Yuliang didn’t dare repeat, after the third time they had gotten into a loud argument over the table.

Though, the rule of silence only applied for the two of them. Not his brother and the second Lord.

“Oh, I am so sorry to hear that. So, the two of you have had to take care of yourself ever since?”

“We had our grandmother, but granny was the only Certified Healer in not just Mist Vally, but all the towns the nearby towns as well. There’s no big hospital with how rural we were, just our granny’s clinic. So she had little time to spare to watch over our day to day needs,” Yukio said with a sad smile.

Yuliang grimaced, hating how pitiful his brother made them sound. He didn’t understand how Yukio could share their past so openly with virtual strangers.

“Oh, how terrible. Who took care of you during that time, then? Neighbours maybe? Small towns tend to have close-knit communities, yes?”

Yukio’s smile turned bitter, “Not until we were a lot older. After brother began working at the clinic and they got used to our presence. We might have been born and raised in Sundan, but the people in our town are very… cautious with people who appear foreign to them. There isn’t a lot of diversity where we lived, you see. So, for the first three years, we had to look after ourselves.” Seeing the horrified expression on the Second Lord’s face, Yukio was quick to reassure, “It wasn’t a difficult thing. Mama and Papa taught us to take care of ourselves before they left. Taught us everything; cooking, cleaning, how to handle the orchards… Not that anyone thought the arrangement would be permanent. Told us they’d be back before we knew it.” A slight waver entered his voice.

Yuliang snapped, grip tightening on the cutlery to the point of bending it, “That’s enough, brother. Shut up and finish eating so that we can wrap this up. I’ve got a lot of papers to mark tonight.”

He clenched his jaw, directed his energy back to eating. No point wasting food, just because his mood had soured.


	67. The Rydel Estate V

After dinner, a more amicable Lord Rydel requested to speak privately with him in his study.

The study was a spacious room with walls liked with book-filled shelves, comfortable-looking leather couches and a pre-lit fireplace burning aromatic wood.

Lord Rydel lead then towards the window and they sat on the armchairs.

“Would you like a drink?”

“Nah. Have a class to teach tomorrow morning. What did you want to talk about?”

The man stared out the glass into the white landscape with a faraway look in his dark brown eyes. “Do you suppress your transformations often?”

Yuliang was caught off-guard by the unexpected question. He eyed the Lord warily for a long moment, “Not like I have anywhere to safely do it. Hate being in enclosed spaces for too long in that form. Can’t run, can’t hunt, can’t howl.” He shifted restlessly in his seat, fingers drumming against the armrest.

“Obviously, it’s no good. Wouldn’t have transformed last time if I hadn’t been suppressing it for so long, but I think I should be able to figure something out till February.”

“You are very confident that you will successfully Certify on your first attempt. Healers twice your age, and Healers with twice your experience have failed it before, what makes you so confident in your ability.” Lord Rydel observed.

Yuliang shrugged, “My internship ends in about a month and a half. With my second recommendation from Professor Belmont, I’m set for writing the upcoming exam. Whether I fail or not I’d still have to leave in February.”

“It’s getting. You and your brother better get going, if you don’t want to get caught up in the forecast storm tonight,” the Lord said after the silence between them began to extend too long.

Yuliang frowned, that couldn’t have been all the Lord had asked to speak to him about in private.

“Why did you need to speak to me here then? If that’s all you wanted to ask?”

The Lord studied him for a long moment before speaking, “I wished to extend an invitation to you and your brother to join us for the next full moon gathering.”


	68. Midnight Phone Call I

Yuliang was in the middle of marking an obnoxiously long, bone dry report when his phone began vibrating.

His face twisted in confusion.

Who the fuck was calling him at midnight?

Mina.

“What?” Yuliang snapped, scribbling in a red 68 on the front of the report.

There were a lot of signs indicating a lack of full understanding of the practical aspect throughout the paper. The only reason he’d even scored it so high despite it was that the guy, Lachlan, was one of the few students that had bothered to even fucking do it.

“Yuliang, you’re awake!”

“Yeah, I’m up marking shit.”

“No, I mean you aren’t in a coma anymore.”

“Obviously. What’s up, why are you calling so late, Mina?”

“Oh, it is late. I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize!” She exclaimed. “I just saw your brother’s Social update-”

Yuliang glared at the paper hard.

That idiot.

“-and the next thing I knew, I was calling you. How are you feeling, Yuliang? Everyone at the bakery’s been really worried about you.”

The tension on Yuliang’s face softened the slightest, “I’m fine, don’t worry. Just needed some time to recover.”

“Will you be coming back to work soon?”

Yuliang grunted, “Maybe. I’ll talk to Norma about it.”

“Oh, alright. Well, I’m really glad you’re awake and well again. Hope I’ll be seeing you at work soon to make sure in person, though. Have a good night.”

“G’night.”


	69. Harsh Reminder

Yuliang looked over 13 pale-faced students with a heavy gaze.

“I don’t ask a lot from you,” Yuliang stated when the silence in the room dragged to the point of discomfort.

“Only for your attention, your best effort and for you to do your assigned tasks. I’m a provisional instructor here at this university. Whether or not I’m in the classroom, makes no difference in the expectation this university has of you as students.” Yuliang stuffed his hands into the pockets of his sweats and leaned against the edge of his desk. He spoke slowly, making sure to consider his words briefly before speaking so that he didn't end up swearing without intending to. 

"Only four seem to actually remember that graduation is only guaranteed for students that pass every unit. Failing even one will result in your expulsion. Every single assignment is an opportunity for you to score under a setting of your control. Examinations will be much harder to score in from what I've heard." Yuliang shrugged, "Skipping assignments seems to be a stupid thing to do when you think of it like that, yeah?" He pushed away from the desk and walked back to take his seat. "Lilou, Lachlan, Elys and Bodhi, come up to grab your papers before you leave class.”


	70. Assault I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title says it all, but there will be some graphic content being dealt within the next few chapters.

“It’s not fair! There must be some way for you to do something! What do you want? Money? I don’t care how much you ask for, I’ll give it.”

Yuliang snorted, “Relax, it’s worth 10%, you can still pass the unit as long as you do well on the next three.” Yuliang turned his attention to the Netscreen, “Wait, let me see your average. Hmmm, 49%. Yeah, that’s not looking good for you. You have to score above 70 for the next few assessments if you want to pass the in-class component of your grade, just passing the semester exam is no good.”

It had been a long day. An entire morning with the second year Enforcing students and an afternoon with an even more exhausting first year Healing students.

It was well after five now and no one was left in the building. He'd spent hours talking to pleading students individually and Carlton Riviera was the last one.

Once he was done here, he could go home and take a good long nap.

The lingering effects of Energy exhaustion left him quite easily drained these days.

As tired as he was, and with how unexpected the act had been, when Carlton suddenly grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him into a kiss all Yuliang responded with was a confused groan.

The confusion didn’t last long.

The wave of fury that washed over him felt scorching. Yuliang put a stop to the violating act by harshly grabbing Carlton by the short locks of his hair and pulling him away.

“Ugh.”

Yuliang twisted his fingers and tugged harshly, forcing the man to look him in the eye, amber eyes set ablaze.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

Carlton glared right back, with his cobalt blue eyes, but Yuliang could feel the trembling of his body from their proximity to one another.

“What does it look like? If you don’t want me to tell people that you inappropriately touched one of your students, you better do what I say, omega,” Carton gritted out, through the pain of the grip on his scalp. He didn’t seem to be quite aware of exactly who it was that had the upper hand here.

The other man boldly took Yuliang’s other hand and brought it down to the erect tent forming on his pants.

“But, before we do that, we can have some fun first.”

The blazing amber of his eyes darkened and cooled down to steel.

Yuliang gave it a stroke, drifting his hand lower to get a better grip through the fabric of Carlton’s pants.

Then he squeezed.

He squeezed hard.


	71. Assault II

“Since you won’t be joining our class again in the future, this will be your final lesson in Healing,” Yuliang stated, looking down at the bloody snivelling mess on the floor with an impassive gaze.

Carlton stared up at the monster in human flesh that approached him with glowing green hands, through a haze of tears and pain.

He had long lost track of time and for what felt like an eternity, all he could remember was the pain.

Unending pain.

Upon contact, he whimpered into the makeshift gag of his blood-soaked underwear.

It burned.

Every single cell on his body was on fire as the corrosive Energy flowed through him.

He screamed.


	72. Assault III

"Pay attention, Carlton, this is going to be the most important lesson of your life," Yuliang drawled. "When you are Healing, it is important to numb the nerves of the body as you do it. The process of Healing is one that goes against the natural process. The Energy that flows through the body, especially since it isn't your own, will cause pain for the patient if you don't."

Yuliang directed some Energy towards numbing, to demonstrate his point and the muffled scream died down to a whimper.

Each word that slid out of his lips were as cold as ice and made colder by the look in his eyes. "Remember the pain you felt today, Carlton. You will carry the memories of this day with you for the rest of your life. This is your burden to bear alone. The consequences of your actions, Carlton. Not just towards me, but all the people that you have attempted such methods with before me as well."

The man looked up at him with wide eyes, and Yuliang scoffed.

"What? Don't look surprised. It's not hard to figure out where your confidence to commit it could come from. Wonder how many women and omegas have suffered from your actions. Doesn't matter, you've paid the price for your actions already," Yuliang said, gesturing to the bloody appendage that splattered blood against the wall behind them.

Carlton whimpered looking up at him pathetically.

Yuliang couldn't muster up even an ounce of sympathy for him but offered an obligatory, pat on his shoulder. Then realizing that it was dislocated, he set it back into place with a harsh snap.

Carlton's eyes shot open and a muffled scream cut through the gag.

"Sorry," Yuliang said, insincerely. Then checked over the rest of his body with Energy to ensure proper functioning.

It would be counterproductive if he left behind any more evidence on his body, other than the glaring exception of his missing dick.

Which reminds him, "Oi, Carlton, this stays between us, yeah? Because if it doesn't, I will find out, and when I do," Yuliang dipped his head to whisper into a blood-covered ear, "I will find you and I will end you"


	73. From Beyond the Glass I

Elys hadn’t had a proper chance to interact with Yuliang in about a week since his meeting with his parents.

They only had two classes together a week and he’d been banned from going to Yuliang’s apartment until things had settled.

Elys thankfully had still been allowed to stay after class for their usual sessions, but it just wasn’t the same.

It wasn't enough.

Today, things had been different.

After Yuliang had scolded the incompetent students for their attitudes, they had all taken up time after class to argue their case and make excuses with him. 

All the first-year Healing students admired and respected Yuliang in different ways.

Some, like the quiet Kulonian girl, Lilou Walker, respected Yuliang as the god among mortals he was.

Others, like Lachlan Everdale and Bodhi Patel, were bothered by being instructed by someone their age, but respected Yuliang as an accomplished peer. 

The rest of his classmates had a different sort of admiration for Yuliang. 

An admiration created by a heady combination of fear and lust.

Elys' heightened hearing, so he had heard every dirty comment they said to each other or muttered under their breaths behind Yuliang's back. 

The things they said sickened him, but he'd never thought that anyone would ever act on their sick urges.

Elys knew the chances of it happening today were low, with his unofficial curfew, but he'd still hoped to have at least a bit of Yuliang's undivided attention before he had to leave. 

Unfortunately with his loser classmates wasting time arguing with Yuliang, the time for him to leave came closer and closer.

He had stood outside the doorway, with his back to the class, staring down at his phone when the first concerned message from his mother came through. 

He wanted to cry. 

Why did they have to ruin his life like this? 

Why couldn't they just let him make his own decisions about his life? 

This wasn't fair!

He had to go, but he couldn't bring himself to leave without at least saying goodbye. 

He turned back, about to do so, but then he could only stare in wide-eyed horror as Carlton Riviera forced a kiss on his Yuliang.


	74. From Beyond the Glass II

Elys had been a sheltered child all his life as omegas of aristocratic families usually were.

While he was aware of violence and all it entailed in the periphery of his knowledge, he had never born witness nor truly experienced it at any point in his life.

Even Seth at his angriest never went further than leaving a minor bruise on his skin.

So, seeing Yuliang extract retribution by ripping a man’s penis off his body after beating him into incoherence, was truly his first encounter with something so graphic.

It was life-changing.

It was the most satisfying thing he had witnessed in his whole life!

Seeing Yuliang displaying his strength and asserting his dominance over scum, Elys felt his chest rumble in a purr of satisfaction.

This was his Pack leader.

The epitome of what an omega could be.

Beautiful, strong, intelligent and ruthless.

Elys couldn’t wait to be just like him one day.


	75. From Beyond the Glass III

Pushing Carlton's unconscious body against the wall of the classroom's blindspot, Yuliang looked up at Elys who was just standing at the doorway staring at him with big blue eyes.

Not even a shadow of condemnation, horror, or disgust reflected in them. 

Just clarity and curiosity. 

"Shouldn't you be heading home, Elys?" Yuliang asked, unhurriedly walking to grab the classroom's cleaning supplies. 

All Healing classrooms were fully supplied to deal with any type of mess. The cleaning staff cleaned on weekends unless they were called to deal specifically to deal with a big mess during. So it was up to the teachers and students to maintain its cleanliness on most days. 

Elys ducked his head, "Yeah, but I was hoping to speak to you before I left. I had a few questions about today's lesson, but that can wait I think." Then he looked up at him with big eager blue eyes, "Do you need help cleaning?"

Yuliang arched an eyebrow, "You want to help clean?"

"Yes! Well, maybe? I don't have much experience with it, but if you instruct me through it, I should be fine."

Yuliang scoffed, "I think I'm done with teaching for the day. Besides, it's late. You need to get home before your parents think I kidnapped you or something."

Elys huffed, "You know they like you right? Especially father."

"Bullshit," Yuliang asserted, before bending down to begin scrubbing at the fresh blood on the tile. "Your old man thinks I'm some kind of savage omega trying to seduce his precious flower to the 'dark side'."

Elys giggled, "Well, he thinks that too. Says you dress like you're homeless and that you could probably stop a train on its tracks if you put your mind to it."

Yuliang huffed, "Is that meant to be an insult?"

Elys shrugged, an action he had taken to using recently, "He said it as if it was one, but you're right, I should go. Don't need father to send another team of Enforcers to find me again."

Again? 

Yuliang took in the bloody scene around him.

Yeah, not the best time for that. 

"Alright, alright, bye Elys and keep your mouth shut about this, yeah?"

Elys looked at him innocently, "Keep my mouth shut about what, Yuliang?"

Yuliang rewarded him with a sharp approving grin, "Atta boy, but seriously, fuck off now. I have shit to do and you're a distraction."

Elys laughed, "See you tomorrow, Yuliang."


	76. Resolution I

Yuliang washed the blood off his skin the best he could in the classroom sink and was checking on the selfie camera to check for any missed spots when Carlton began stirring.

Calmly drying himself with a hand towel, Yuliang took a seat on the floor before him and waited for the man to fully wake up.

When cobalt eyes took him in, they widened and Carlton began sobbing and begging, “I’m sorry, please. No more. I swear I’ll never touch anyone ever again, please! I won’t ever tell anyone either! Please, Yuliang!”

“Shut the fuck up,” Yuliang ordered.

Carlton’s mouth shut with a click.

“Look, I’m only going to offer this once. You have five seconds to decide. Do you want me to regrow your dick or are you happy to be dickless for the rest of your life?”

Carlton gaped, “I-What?”

Yuliang held up a hand and folded a finger, “Four.”

“No! I mean yes. Please, regrow it! My life has no meaning without it!”

He could respect that.

Yuliang dropped his hand and shrugged, “Alright, take off your pants and lie down on the floor then.”

Yuliang hadn’t regrown any dicks before, but he knew how to do it in theory.


	77. Resolution II

Carlton’s body trembled as growing green hands once more reached for his vulnerable area, especially with his previous traumatic experience with them not too long ago, but the cool numbing sensation of his lower body and the Yuliang’s normal frowning face, had him relaxing onto the floor soon after.

“Please don’t kick me out, Yuliang. My family is counting on me to do well here, please. I swear to the moon goddess that I’ll never do something like this ever again in my lifetime. I swear I’ll change, please.”

He understood that this was his retribution for years of harassing and tormenting his teachers in the past. Which while it never sat right with him, was something he had done out of desperation to stop the scars on his back from increasing.

Father never took kindly to failure.

For the longest time, Yuliang said nothing and Carlton’s heart sank.

Surviving this experience, even with his dick intact, would mean nothing if his father got his hands on him after he got kicked out. 

He’d be killed for sure then.

It was sad how he was safer in the hands of his victim-turned-assaulter than with his father.

“If you are struggling with the content, you will remain after class to get the assistance you need in the future. You will never touch me or anyone without explicit permission ever again. You will never speak of the events of this day to anyone even under the threat of death. You promise to do these things and you may stay,” Yuliang stated after the glow of his hands dimmed out, signalling the end of his work.

Carlton couldn’t agree fast enough.


	78. Resolution III

Stepping into his bedroom, Yuliang’s eyes were drawn to the red and black fabric of his robe in the laundry basket.

While the red and black colours of their robes were due to them being the internationally recognized colours of Fiore, they also had the added benefit of covering up any visible evidence of blood.

If it wasn’t for the smell and the hardened clumps of fabric from where the blood dried, no one would have been able to tell the difference.

Snorting at his train of thought, Yuliang tiredly flopped onto the bed.

He’d spent a long time in the shower, scrubbing himself thoroughly to the point of sensitivity.

His nightly routine of brushing his teeth and hair had been done in a daze, his mind too preoccupied with the events of the evening.

Yuliang had gotten into plenty of scuffles and uncomfortable situations in his life. He was used to harassment, verbal abuse and everything else that entailed, but he had never once been someone to take back punishment he inflicted before.

Healing Carlton’s superficial injuries made sense. It would be too incriminating if the man went home looking like he was the one that got assaulted, but there was no reason for Yuliang to Heal the... rest of him, or to take back his decision to have Carlton kicked out of the university.

So, why the fuck had he done it?

Yuliang twisted up to face the ceiling with a sigh, eyes weighing down from his exhaustion.

Well, there wasn’t any point in taking it back now.

Yuliang will let things be as they are for now, but if Dickless put even one toe out of line in the future, he’ll make sure to put the bitch into place again by whatever means necessary.


	79. Brotherly Love X

“You’re a fucking angel, Yukio,” Yuliang said, dropping onto one of the stools at the counter and digging into the meat and vegetable dish with relish.

Estish food, his favourite.

In the months he’d been in Linos, Yuliang had occasionally allowed his brother to drag him around to restaurants to try different cuisines.

Something Yuliang only went along with because he didn’t have to pay. Yukio had been quite adamant about him trying every region’s specialty at least once before he had to go back home.

In Sundan, food typically consisted of varieties of bread, rice and curries. Their palates were usually accustomed to spicy and flavour-filled dishes. They were also quite fond of their desserts and sweets. Especially if it had fruits like apples or berries and nuts in it.

So far, he has tried Nordish, Kulonian and Estish. Yukio insisted that they would eat Medinian closer to him leaving.

Nordish cuisine consisted of a lot of seafood, soups, and incorporated a lot of preserved and nonperishable ingredients like beans and grains like oats. Yuliang thought that their desserts were delicious, but he found their main dishes to be quite bland and mild as fuck. The Nordish salt and spices quite sparingly.

Kulonian dishes on the other hand were almost as spicy as Sundanese dishes, with lots of meat, rice and other grains, but favoured sourness over saltiness. When he first tried it, Yuliang hadn’t been a fan, but over time, once he had gotten more used to it, he had come to enjoy it a bit more.

Estish food, his favourite. Their cuisine included lots of meat, seafood, rice, noodles and other flour-based dishes unique to them. Estish food was generally milder but still flavourful.

It also brought forth a strong nostalgia.

The first time they had tried a noodle soup, Yukio had burst into tears in the middle of the restaurant. Yuliang hadn’t cried, but he had ended up bending the metal chopsticks in his tight grip instead.

It tasted just like their mother’s cooking.

Feeling a tightness building up in his chest, from the memory, Yuliang cleared his throat and grabbed a bottle of water from the bag to wash down the sour aftertaste his emotions left behind.

Yukio, probably sensing the downturn of his emotions, was quick to offer distraction.

“You know, I was thinking…”

Yuliang snorted, “Don’t hurt yourself.”

Yukio smacked him on the shoulder, “Says you! Mr. I-only-think-with-my-fists! Seriously though, I was thinking that we should go out for a drink this weekend. You wanna?”

Yuliang frowned, “The same place as last time?”

Yukio smiled, “Sure, why not. The owner’s your friend right?”

Yuliang shrugged, “I guess. It would be nice to see him again.”

“Then it’s settled!” Then Yukio’s demeanour shifted into a more uncertain one, piquing Yuliangs curiosity and worry equally.

“What is it, brother?”

Yukio breathed in deeply as if to brace himself.

“Do you mind if my boyfriend joins us?”

Yuliang’s reaction was immediate.

His wooden chopsticks snapped in half like twigs.

“What the fuck did you just say?”


	80. The Invitation

Emil Belmont stared at the letter in his hand with an unreadable look in his grey eyes.

It was the invitation to the Winter Solstice Ball. 

The most anticipated event of the year, where anyone who was anyone in Linos was expected to be.

Emil had always been guaranteed an invitation due to being a member of one of Fiore's Founding families, as well as his renown in the field of Healing, but he tended to avoid them more often than not.

Too many people pushing themselves or their relatives at him in hopes of getting married into the Belmont family. 

Emil also despised the peacocking, posturing and social climbing that was abundant in such events.

At this point, he usually would have been composing a polite rejection letter to whatever family that had taken on the task of hosting this year, but today Emil found himself hesitating.

While Emil himself would gain very little from attending, it would be a different story for Yuliang. Making connections with the upper class of Fiore would be very beneficial to his apprentice-brother. 

What a waste it would be for Yuliang to be limited in the future by something like a lack of connections.

The young man just had too much potential for Emil to allow the risk of something like that occurring. 

It would also be a good opportunity for Yuliang to learn about how to conduct himself among the group of people who would choose to try exploiting him the most in the future.

With that in mind, Emil began composing his reply.


	81. The Explosion

"Welcome back, Yuliang! We missed you."

"Thanks, Norma... I missed y'all too," Yuliang replied sincerely, returning the short woman's embrace.

He was still getting used to the open affection Medinians shared with people, but he didn't freeze up when it happened anymore.

"Well, there's plenty for us to discuss. Let's talk in my office."

Norma's office was a small room at the back of the bakery, with a comfortable set of floral printed couches and an old wooden desk with enough paperwork piled up that it looked like it might collapse under its weight any day now.

"I'm very sorry for all the trouble I've caused with my absence," Yuliang said with a small bow of his head, once they were settled on the couches.

Norma laughed, "What trouble, darling? You were recovering from overworking your body." A more sombre expression took over her face, "Truly, that explosion was such a tragedy, I can't imagine how many more lives could have been lost if it wasn't for the doctors and you Healers working around the clock to save as many lives as you could."

An explosion?

Yuliang frowned, he remembered Professor Belmont mentioning something like that on the day.

"What exactly happened? I didn't get a chance to look into it yet."

Norma sighed, slipping her glasses off to wipe the lenses with the fabric with her blouse.

"Well, the explosion happened at one of the city's Riverside warehouses. A lot of people were in the area due to a Civilian Council candidate hosting a gathering in the nearby park in preparation for the upcoming election. No official statements have been made yet, but everyone thinks it was a deliberate act arranged by a detractor. Most likely one of the Councilors who wanted to take out the competition early."

Yuliang didn't follow politics or watch the news. Mostly because he didn't have the time, but also because with how isolated and removed Mist Valley was from the rest of Fiore, it didn't really have an impact on his life, but with him living in the fucking capital now and his involvement with Healing the victims of the explosion, it was only right that he at least know what he had been dealing with.

"I haven't heard much about it from anyone since I woke up, is that not a big deal around here?"

Norma's face twisted in sadness and grief, "Unfortunately, political sabotage and even assassinations are commonplace in the Civilian Council. Lost my brother years ago to one. He was a candidate running opposition to a member of the Civilian Council and had been gaining popularity, so he was killed."

A bitter laugh escaped her, a layer of moisture misting up her aged brown eyes, "Everyone knew Councillor Gareth Khan as one of the best councillors in Fiore, but not even his most fanatical supporters could deny that he had done it. Every single person in Linos knew the bastard had killed my brother. A husband. A father of three children. But instead of demanding justice for my brother's death, you know what they did?"

Yuliang leaned back into the couch and nodded. "They decided that he probably deserved it, turned a blind eye and voted him in again, didn't they?"

Norma's words of response were drowned out by her sobs, the emotions she had been trying so hard to control overcoming her.

Yuliang sighed, looking up at the ceiling with impassive amber eyes.

Fiore, for all its supposed 'greatness', was just as fucked up as any other country. It was just better at covering up its shit than the rest.


	82. Mob mentality

Yuliang was on his way back to the university when he was stopped on his tracks by a hand on his shoulder.

“Wait, you’re Yuliang Davos, aren’t you? The Healer?”

Yuliang scowled, at the girl, “Yeah, what about it?”

The girl squealed and turned to the three other people waiting a few feet away, with their phones pointed at him. “Guys, it’s him! It’s Yuliang Davos!”

They were in a relatively populated area close to the university and this was a weekend, so there were plenty of people around the shopping area.

Yuliang felt hyper-aware of the attention the girl’s announcement had brought to him, and the memory of Yukio telling him to be careful about going out barefaced belatedly came to the forefront of his mind.

Way too belatedly, because the next thing he knew he was surrounded by screaming people left and right.

He was trapped.

He was trapped in a crowd of people who were all grabbing at him and talking to him all at the same time.

Such a crowd couldn’t possibly have just gathered because of him. Yuliang wasn’t such an important figure to garner such an amount of attention by himself, even if the media had popularised his face due to his efforts from three weeks ago.

It was more likely that a few people had gathered because of him and the rest of the people around had just jumped the bandwagon or been drawn in due to mob mentality.

For a second he couldn’t breathe, gripped by a sense of dread, that he had not felt since he was a kid and getting beat down on the regular.

Yuliang forced his lungs to work, taking in much-needed air, but every inhale only brought forth the smell of human body odour, omega sweetness and perfume which did the opposite of calming him.

He grits his teeth, the familiar rush of anger filling him with the strength to move his locked muscles and began pushing through the crowd.

“Could y'all please kindly, fuck off. I don’t have time for this shit,” he managed to force out. 

“Is that the kind of language someone of your profession should be using?” some snobbish bitch in the crowd asked, pissing Yuliang off.

“Like I fucking care," Yuliang sneered, "Now, stop fucking blocking the way. I'm trying to get back home, thanks."

"Unbelievable! You're a disgrace, Yuliang Davos! Nothing like the hero everyone seems to have been brought to believe."

A few cries of agreement and muttering spread across the crowd in a wave. The overwhelming positive energy that had infected the crowd shifted into one of cold judgement and condemnation.

Yuliang snapped, "It's your own fault if you believed some fantasy the state media cooked up, I had no say in it. I was fucking unconscious the whole time it was going on. I didn't ask for any of that! I just did my job, got it? I did my job, just like every other medical professional that day. Nothing more, nothing less. As a Healer, it's my fucking job to save lives. I didn't go out of my fucking way to do anything special! So, whatever ideas all you folks have of me being some kind of fucking hero or whatever, get rid of em. Now if y'all could just continue going about your day and letting me through, that would be great, thanks."

Yuliang hadn't intended to say so much, but he had little control of what he said in such an emotionally heightened state. Thankfully it seemed to have the effect of at least snapping some people back to their senses, as people began to part the way for him to at least get out.

Yuliang's memories from that point were still hazy, but he somehow managed to get back to the university and sneaked back into his apartment feeling paranoia creeping at the edges of his conscience.

It was only once he was certain that he was safely locked away and tucked under the covers tightly curled around the biggest and softest pillow he had available that he finally relaxed. 

Yuliang was never going out without a disguise ever again!


	83. Guilt Ridden

Yukio went over to his brother’s apartment later in the evening when five of his calls went unanswered.

They had arranged for a second key a long time ago, but it was pointless because Yuliang had used the second lock and locked it from the inside.

It was weird, Yuliang usually never used the second lock.

Annoyed, Yukio tried calling him again, tapping the leather sole of his foot on the carpeted ground impatiently.

It took another two calls, but it was finally picked up.

There was a groggy grunt from the other end, indicating that his brother had just woken up from a deep sleep.

"Hey brother, it's me. We're meant to go out tonight, remember? Open up."

Even weirder. The only times Yuliang slept in the afternoon was when he was sick-which only happened once in a blue moon or… when something had emotionally overwhelmed him.

Now at 17, years after the most difficult parts of their lives had passed, Yukio had come to understand the privilege of vulnerability had been and how much Yuliang had sacrificed to ensure it.

Yukio might be the one who was quicker to cry between them, but that had the advantage of Yukio being very emotionally aware and mature, with healthy coping mechanisms in place to deal with them.

Yuliang did not.

Yuliang never cried.

He hadn’t cried at the funeral.

He hadn’t cried when the bullies of the village had taken advantage of their tragedy to beat them without consequences.

He hadn’t cried no matter how overwhelming things got with all the responsibilities he had suddenly inherited. Having to work for hours on end, having to manage their orchards, having to take care of the cooking and cleaning of the house, having to work at the clinic with their grandmother. He'd even had to do all those things while studying for the licencing exam.

When Yuliang opened the door, Yukio couldn't stop himself from throwing his arms around his twin and just sobbing onto his shoulder.

"Brother? What's wrong with you? Did something happen?" Yuliang asked, rubbing his back just the way their father used to comfort them.

It just made Yukio cry harder.

Yuliang had messed up plenty of times over the years, unsurprising with having to manage so much at such a young age, but he never once cried or gave up. Just renewed his determination to succeed and continued. All Yukio had done was mope around in his room and fought with him constantly when his brother had even asked him to do a single thing.

Sometimes even getting into physical fights with him. Fights that Yuliang had put a stop to when they started becoming one-sided.

For all Yuliang was a violent asshole, he was no abuser.

He didn't take joy from fighting.

To him, fighting was the venting of all the emotions that he suppressed and converted into fury.

No, Yuliang didn't cry.

He either got mad or when getting mad wasn't enough he slept.

Sleep was a reset button for Yuliang.

Once he woke up, whatever had been bothering him was an afterthought that no longer bothered him.

"Seriously, brother, what's wrong? Did your... boyfriend," Yuliang spat out the word as if it burnt him, "do something? Because if he did-"

Yukio immediately pulled away to assure his brother of the opposite, "No! Zander didn't do anything. I just had a long day and missed you," he said.

If Yuliang thought Zander had done something, he'd kill him.

Plain and simple.

Yuliang never forgave a slight against Yukio, no matter how minor.

A fresh wave of tears dripped down his face and Yuliang gave him a confused look.

"Are you sure? You don't look very convincing right now."

Yukio pulled out an embroidered handkerchief from his jacket pocket and dabbed at his eyes and wiped his nose. "Zander's a sweetheart, brother. He'd never hurt me. Things just got a bit overwhelming for me."

"You're such a fucking crybaby. How are you going to survive without me here for the rest of the year, brother?" Yuliang groused, gently grabbed Yukio by the back of his neck and brought his face to the base of his jaw where his scent gland was located.

His brother's citrusy smell was potent there, even with Yuliang's religious use of scent blockers. Yukio sighed and felt the stress and tension leave his body, but the guilt and sadness Yukio felt at that moment were too strong to be pushed aside so easily.

Even now, when Yuliang was obviously the one who had a difficult day, his brother comforted him.

He was truly useless.

He couldn’t imagine how his younger self could have looked his exhausted brother in his eyes after a day of lazing around in his room or after a boring day at school-school that Yuliang had dropped out of to have more time to work- and thought that it was just how things should be.

Every paycheque Yukio got from his escort work came with heavy guilt and the memory of a ten year old Yuliang working a thousand times harder, for just a small fraction of it, to save up money for the future they were living right now.

Yukio was ashamed to admit that if Yuliang hadn’t snapped at him that day and ordered him to get a part-time job to support his expenses, Yukio would still be leeching off his brother’s hard-earned money.

It had taken months of dealing with horrible humans like Feliks Belmont and his posse, Seth Rydel, and the other Elitist pricks of UMed to make Yukio let go of the petty resentment he held in his heart and realize how truly blessed he was to have someone like Yuliang by his side.

For all his faults, Yuliang had never once let him down. Forever his protector and silent supporter. The only person who hadn’t scoffed when he shared his dream of making beautiful clothes for a living. Completely against the expectation of him becoming a Healer too.

Yuliang just told him to shut the fuck up and study hard to make it a reality. Told him that nothing good in life came easy and that if he truly wanted something he had to fight for it.

The guilt of it all ate at Yukio, and usually kept him up for a long time at night, regardless of his exhaustion and followed him into his dreams as well in the form of nightmares.

Things were a bit better now since he had started to date Zander though.

He still had a hard time getting to sleep, but on days that Zander joined him in bed, Yukio could at least get sleep without being plagued by nightmares of his past mistakes and ignorance.

He sighed, shaking his head of all the negative and guilt-ridden thoughts in his head.

No point thinking about all this now.

He just had to work hard and become successful, to ensure that none of his brother’s efforts were in vain. Then he could start repaying Yuliang for all the sacrifices he made for them.

"Do you want to stay here instead of going out?"

Yukio shook his head and let out a watery laugh, "I could do with a drink tonight I think."

Yuliang snorted, "Zander gonna stay sober tonight then?"

"Yeah. Zander doesn’t drink alcohol either way."

“What the hell’s the point of coming to a bar with us then?”

Yukio laughed again, “You’re the one that wanted to go to the bar, brother. I know you already know Zander, but I just wanted to properly introduce him as my boyfriend tonight.”

“You don’t have to bring him with us tonight. It could be just the two of us,” Yuliang grumbled half-heartedly.

Yukio only shook his head at his brother’s childishness.

Truly, Yukio was so lucky to have Yuliang, violent tendencies and all.


	84. Out of the friend zone and into the fire I

Wary of repeating the incident from that morning, Yuliang followed his brother’s example and used a surgical face mask to obscure his face and secured his jacket hood over his head for both added protection from the cold and as an added layer of security.

“Ready to go, brother? Zander’s waiting for us in his car downstairs.”

Yuliang’s expression darkened. 

He didn’t understand how the fuck that had even happened.

How the fuck had someone managed to convince his commitment-phobic brother to date them? Let alone Zander fucking Vesalius, who from what Yuliang last remembered, had been so deep in the friendzone that even Yuliang was more likely to date Yukio than him. 

Yuliang sighed, trying not to let the bitterness he felt get to him. No matter how many people Yukio had slept with before, Yuliang had never felt threatened by them, knowing that Yukio's affections for them were fleeting, but now he was dating someone. This was the man that his brother felt comfortable and happy enough with enough to commit to them. This was the man that could one day usurp Yuliang's importance in Yukio's heart. 

Yuliang hated it and wanted things to go back to the way they were because even if his brother was a total slut, it was at least familiar and didn't change their dynamics. Yuliang mentally slapped himself, what the hell was he thinking? How selfish could he be to think something as horrible as that? He'd always been against his brother's promiscuity and now that Yukio had found a stable partner, it suddenly made it okay?

No, it fucking didn't!

Also, Yukio was clearly a lot happier now that he was with Zander. Yuliang hadn't seen him this happy since he had gotten his acceptance letter six months ago.

"Brother?" Yukio asked, looking at him in concern when he didn't answer immediately. 

Yuliang patted him on the shoulder reassuringly and said, “I'm fine, brother. Let's go." 

Yuliang had never gotten in the way of his brother’s choices before, and he wasn’t going to start now.

At least his brother’s boyfriend was someone he already knew, instead of one of Yukio’s random hookups like he had always feared.


	85. Out of the friend zone and into the fire II

Being stared down by fierce amber eyes, seemingly intent on burning him to ash on the spot, was a much better fate than Zander had expected when he had resigned himself to facing the dragon that was Yuliang Davos.

A bar filled with witnesses and his boyfriend’s presence at his side provided added reassurance to his nerves.

There was no way Yuliang would try anything with so many witnesses around.

Would he?

Zander dug into his food with an intense focus, as the twins talked, trying not to let the glare directed his way to bother him too much.

Then he choked.

“You alright?” Yuliang asked, immediately sliding a glass of water towards him.

A surprisingly kind gesture from a man who had looked ready to murder him a moment ago.

Zander cleared his throat and accepted it with a choked out thanks, and shot a warning glance at his boyfriend, who looked back at him in concern and soothingly rubbed at his back.

There was nothing on his face indicating the fact that Yukio currently had his hand on Zander’s dick. The hand playfully squeezed and Zander coughed to cover up a moan.

“I’m fine, Yukio. You can stop now,” Zander gritted out, trying his best not to react to the friction and warmth on his slowly hardening nether region.

“What. Is my brother worrying for you too much for your pride,” Yuliang sneered, tapping his fingers against the table and giving him a warning look.

Zander opened his mouth to retort but snapped his mouth shut when he realized that it would make him look worse if he did.

It wasn’t like Yuliang knew of the filthy things his younger twin was currently doing to his boyfriend under the table in his very presence.

Zander ducked his head.

The blood that drained from his face went straight to his dick.

As terrified of facing Yuliang’s wrath as he was, the filthiness of the current situation aroused him to no end.

Yukio always took sex into new levels of depravity and Zander fucking lived for it.

Zander could hear the low pleased purr resounding from his lover and he could easily picture the smug smirk currently gracing Yukio's face at his response. 

He single-handedly unbuttoned his jeans and slipped his hand inside to stroke him directly.

Zander desperately grabbed for the glass of water and took a long drink with hopes of cooling off the burning level of arousal he felt. 

Not that it helped much.

He bit back a moan at a particularly harsh upstroke and tightened his grip onto the glass.

Yukio laughed at something his brother said that Zander was far too wrapped up in his pleasure to hear. “Relax brother. You’re getting upset over nothing." Then he directed his attention to Zander, "You sure you want me to stop, Zander?” Yukio teased, his hand’s movement stilling. He looked at Zander with mischievous and heated amber eyes that made Zander’s blood boil with desire all the more.

Fuck, he could never win with this minx!

He grabbed Yukio’s hand under the table and pushed deeper into his pants.


	86. At the Bar V

“It’s been a while,” Emil said, setting his glass down on the bar counter.

Lorcan grunted in agreement, “Couldn’t be helped. We have both kept busy.”

Emil leaned back on his chair and glanced at the frowning man beside him. “Yeah. Real busy. How are things looking on your side? Found the person responsible yet?”

Lorcan pursed his lips, displeasure radiating from every cell of his body. There was a long angry silence before his companion replied. “Not like it would make a difference,” he gritted out, staring blankly at his untouched glass as he swirled the drink within it. “The official statement is that the warehouse was storing unsafe chemicals which detonated due to mishandling from within. The explosion, a result of negligence.”

Emil traces the rim of his glass with the tip of his finger.

“So, he gets away with it once more,” he mutters.

Lorcan downs his drink in silent resignation.


	87. At the Bar VI

“Yuliang Davos. He works with you, right?” Lorcan drawled.

Emil took another sip of his drink. “Yes. He’s one of my interns.”

Lorcan arched an eyebrow with the less than forthcoming response. Usually, Emil was more than happy to share(rant) about the people he worked with. So, for him to not immediately jump the gun to share was a rare occurrence.

“Why are you asking about him?” Emil asked, peering at him with narrowed grey eyes.

Lorcan paused, carefully considering his next words.

For all, Emil was a good friend of his, his loyalty lay with the Belmonts. Just as Lorcan’s lay with the Rydels.

So to ensure the maintenance of their friendship, they avoid discussions about their families and personal interests when possible.

“Mere curiosity,” Lorcan settled for saying. “His name’s been all over the news recently. Doesn’t help that he’s Elys’ teacher either or how enamoured my brother is with him,” he confided with a twitch of his lips.

Enamoured was an understatement.

The manner and reverence in which his youngest brother often spoke of his instructor bordered on obsession.

His younger brother’s mannerisms and speech, which had once been refined and elegant had slowly morphed to become more clipped and brash.

A change Lorcan could only assume to be due to the instructor’s influence.

It was a subtle change, one that his parents had yet to take notice of. Or something they had taken note of but turned a blind eye to. Since they too seemed to be quite preoccupied with the man.

Lorcan had even heard his notoriously judgemental father speak fondly of this mysterious Yuliang with his friends in the parlour whenever they dropped in to share a drink. Last night Lorcan had heard his father even complain about how the man hadn’t visited their house in recent days.

Visits that he had missed due to him often being out of the house for work.

Lorcan was burning with curiosity at this point.

Emil sighed, and rubbed at the bridge of his nose, “What do you want to know about him?”

“What’s he like?”

Emil scoffed, “Arrogant. Says and does what he wants how he wants. Hard-working. Does whatever task given to him beyond the best of his ability. Independent to a fault. He's incapable of completing tasks that include anyone else’s involvement. He's also extremely talented and capable. He's the first person that I’ve met since Mikhail, that had displayed such skill in Healing.”

The description evoked a vague memory of fierce amber eyes and a smell of citrus.

A brief impression made months ago, by an unfortunate encounter, that he carried to this day.

Lorcan laughed, “Sounds like an interesting guy.”

“I guess. I feel bad for whoever would have to put up with such a wild omega in the future.” Then much quieter he adds, “Probably would have been me if he had been another five or ten years older.

Lorcan blinked at his friend in surprise.

Emil was studying his glass thoughtfully as if he hadn’t spouted the most unbelievable thing Lorcan had ever heard.

In the years that Lorcan had known the man, Emil Belmont had been married to his work. Never had Lorcan ever heard his friend even mention the idea of any omega or woman concerning marriage.

“You-”

Seeing the disbelief in Lorcan’s face, and belatedly realizing the implications of his statement, Emil was quick to backtrack, face twisting in disgust. “Don’t get me wrong. I have absolutely no interest in him. I’m just in debt to his grandmother and it is only logical to consider courting him. Not that I have any plans for it.” Emil looked increasingly flustered with each word, and Lorcan found himself biting back the urge to laugh. The older man huffed, before confidently declaring, “Honestly, Yuliang is the last person on earth I’d marry. Like I said before, I’d feel bad for whatever poor man that would end up with him. He’s the least attractive omega I have ever met.”

“Appreciate the honesty, Professor,” a vaguely familiar voice grumbled from behind him. “But can’t say I appreciate being the topic of gossip in a fucking bar.”

There was a smell of citrus in the air and Lorcan felt his heart skip a beat.


	88. At the Bar VII

Fed up with third-wheeling and more than a little uncomfortable by his brother and boyfriend’s sudden preoccupation with each other, Yuliang ditched them in favour of joining Jeremy at the front.

Catching sight of his professor gossipping with a stranger about him had been a surprise. An unpleasant one, but Yuliang didn’t take it too personally. At least he had the comfort of knowing that his professor had no romantic interest in him.

A man, double his age, finding interest in him hadn't been a possibility Yuliang had entertained, but now that it had been addressed and debunked, Yuliang didn't see how he could be bothered by it anymore.

Yuliang hopped onto the barstool beside his professor, offering the surprised man a scowl, he flagged down Jeremy.

“Been a while since I’ve seen you,” Jeremy said in greeting, sliding him a glass of his favourite without prompting.

Yuliang offered him a twitch of his lips and raised his glass to him, “Cheers, brother,” he said, before knocking it back and relishing in the bittersweet burn. “Yeah, been a busy month. How’s business?”

“Better now that you’re here again,” Jeremy said with a wink, refilling his emptied glass.

Yuliang grinned, “Aw, missed you too, bastard. Here’s to a peaceful evening with zero property damage,” Yuliange toasted before tossing back his second drink.

Jeremy toasted back with an empty glass with a laugh and moved on to serve another customer.

Yuliang grabbed the closest available bottle and poured himself another glass.

He was going to get so smashed tonight.


	89. At the Bar VIII

“What are you doing here?” Emil asked, side-eyeing his apprentice-brother uneasily.

Yuliang scowled, and gestured to him with his drink, “What does it look like? I’m here to drink.” 

“Aren’t you a bit too young to drink? Where’s your chaperone?”

“I’m the legal age, dumbass,” Yuliang snapped. “And why the fuck would I need a fucking babysitter?”

“You’re an-” Omega, Emil wanted to say, but the fierce glare directed his way made him reconsider his words.

“I’m a what, Professor?” Yuliang spat, eyes flashing a brief gold, and sharper than normal canines bared in a snarl.

For a natural-born Lycan, Yuliang had a lot less control of his nature than expected. This wasn’t the first time, Emil had noticed his traits flashing through and he was positive that the only reason no one took note of it was that no one knew what to look for. “You know what I mean.”

Probably to spite him, Yuliang took his next drink straight out of the bottle.

Emil just sighed and shook his head.

He turned back to Lorcan with a ‘see-what-I-mean?’ at the tip of his tongue, but he found himself swallowing back the words because, for all he had said about Yuliang lacking control, Lorcan seemed to have completely lost his, because Lorcan’s eyes were red and boring into Yuliang with keen interest.


	90. At the Bar IX

"Lorcan, your eyes."

Lorcan blinked till the tingling feeling in his eyes faded, heart pounding in his chest.

"Gone?" he asked, to make sure that he had his traits under control again.

Emil offered him a tight nod and continued to study him with calculating grey eyes.

"Is he..."

Lorcan shook his head, "I don't know. Met him briefly a few months back," if you could even call getting screamed at a meeting, "but I don't think I... reacted like this back then," he murmured back, keeping his eyes focused on the drink he swirled in his hand, instead of the amazing smelling omega happily drinking away a seat away from him.

Emil sighed, "It's either he is or he isn't Lorcan. Has your wolf reacted like this with anyone else?"

Irritation flared within him and Lorcan directed a scowl at the older man, "You know I've never."

Emil waved it off with a roll of his eyes, "Right, right. Seriously, Lorcan if you weren't so uptight, you wouldn't still be a virgin at this age."

"Nothing wrong with wanting to wait for the right person, Professor," a voice husky from drink chimed in at that moment.

A sly glint entered grey eyes.

One that Lorcan was familiar enough with to know that it meant nothing good for the person on the other end of it.

"No I suppose not, but don't you think it's a bit strange for a 25 year old man to not even try going on a date with someone?"

That made the omega pause and look over at him curiously. Lorcan felt his breath catch.

"Not really. It's up to him to decide what he wants to do with his life, Professor. You are a Rydel, aren't you?" Yuliang asked, head tilting slightly, almost as if he was subconsciously baring his neck to him.

Lorcan felt a flash of satisfaction and the beginning rumble of a purr within his chest, followed by a desire to claim so strong, he momentarily worried he would transform on the spot to do just that.

Prompted by a sharp elbow jab to his side by a scowling Emil, Lorcan cleared his throat, trying to regain his slipping composure, "Yeah. I'm Lorcan Rydel," he said, and after a moment's hesitation, extended his hand to shake.

"Thought so. I'm Yuliang. Your brother's le-" Yuliang choked on his words and took another gulp of his bottle to wash it down, face scrunched up in annoyance, "Sorry, I'm your brother's teacher."

Yuliang's hand was cool to the touch and calloused with a surprisingly strong grip, and their difference in stature was obvious by how Lorcan's hand practically engulfed Yuliang's in his grip.

Yuliang wasn't short by any means, especially for an omega, but like most of the members of the Rydel family were due to their Nordish ancestry, Lorcan was just tall.

When the handshake began extending beyond the acceptable time range, Emil cleared his throat, prompting Lorcan to reluctantly release his grip.

His heart gave a twinge at the loss of contact.


	91. At the Bar X

As time passed, Lorcan watched in amusement as his two companions became increasingly less coherent as the number of bottles and glasses on their side of the counter steadily increased.

“You know, I proposed to Master Hala once,” Emil drawled, snickering in amusement as Yuliang choked on his drink. “Offered to take my virginity instead in apology. Worst and best day of my life.”

“You fucked my granny?”

Emil laughed, “Fucked? No. We made love. She's the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met, your grandmother.” He sighed grey eyes staring at the bottle display rack across from them. “If only I could have been born earlier…” he mused, finger tracing the top of his glass idly.

Lorcan felt a small part of him that had clung onto the possibility of Emil possibly just biding his time for Yuliang to grow older, relax.

Yuliang looked more than a little disturbed, “Why the fuck did you have to say that,” he groaned, clutching his head in his hands. “Oh fuck. Didn’t even know sex was a thing for her, ew.”

Emil smirked, “Hate to break it to you, Yuliang, but people don’t just magically give birth to children. They have to have sex. For her to have had your father, sex was involved.”

Yuliang gagged, “Shut up, I fucking know, alright! Just stop saying it, ew.”

He then looked up at Lorcan with pleading amber eyes that sent a jolt straight through his body, “Make him stop,” Yuliang begged.

Lorcan pushed down the inappropriate images that manifested in his brain with Yuliang wearing the same expression and kicked his friend under the counter, “I think that’s enough, Emil.”

Emil pouted, well beyond drunk at this point, to keep up any semblance of dignity, “Fine, but only because I’m sure your grandmother promised me not to tell you about it.”

“Then why the fuck did you say anything, to begin with, you asshole,” Yuliang snapped. “Just you wait, I’m so telling granny.”

“Wait, don’t tell her. No. I’m sorry.”


	92. At the Bar XI

Dark brown eyes darted from the sleep slack face in his arms to the three pairs of eyes watching them with curiosity and amusement feeling helpless and very out of depth.

One of the pairs of eyes belonged to a face identical to the sweet-smelling omega currently cuddled up to him on his lap.

The twin offered him a wink and pulled out his phone. “This is so cute,” he said with a wide grin. “I’m never going to let him live this down,” he said, a satisfied smirk on his face as he studied the image he had captured in satisfaction.

He took another one for a good measure, and once he was satisfied with whatever shot he had taken, the twin clasped his hands and bowed to him in greeting, “Sorry, for my brother again, mister. I’m Yukio. You’re the guy we...ran into at the station that day right?”

Lorcan nodded. Surprised at being recognized, considering Yuliang had shown zero signs of remembering them meeting that day.

“Truly, such a small world we live in,” Yukio mused, studying them with intelligent amber eyes.

Then he redirected his attention towards Emil, “You must be Professor Belmont,” he said, greeting him with a bow as well.

Emil was completely drunk, but after a brief lapse where he took to processing the words directed towards him, the older man nodded, “Yes. It’s good to finally meet you. Heard a lot about you from your brother.”

Yukio grinned, face lighting up in pleasant surprise, “Really? Yuliang talks about me?”

Emil nodded vehemently, “Ye-ah” he hiccupped, “Occasionally. Said you’re very talented and that you’re the smarter one between you.”

Yukio ducked his head, looking both bashful and pleased, “That’s not true at all. Brother is the amazing one, not me.” Then he shook his head, his attention returning towards the peacefully sleeping Yuliang, “Seriously though, how did my brother end up like this.”

Lorcan cleared his throat, “He came over and said he wanted to sleep and uh… somehow, ended up like this. I couldn’t wake him up,” he awkwardly explained, internally cringing at stupid he sounded.

He hadn’t exactly been sober at the time, so his recollection of the moment wasn’t very clear either.

Yukio shook his head with an exasperated sigh, “He’s a deep sleeper when he’s drunk.” He turned to the quiet man beside him, “What should we do, Zander? I don’t think we're strong enough to carry my brother to his apartment without someone getting hurt.”

The sly glint returned to Emil’s eyes once more. “That’s not a problem. I was planning on staying at my apartment tonight either way. If you just tell us his room number and give us a key, We can drop him off,” Emil offered, casually.

Lorcan frowned. Professor or not, there was no way anyone would leave their omega brother unattended with a stranger.

Hell, if it had been Elys drunk and asleep in a stranger’s arms and Lorcan had been in Yukio’s position, Lorcan was certain that his first instinct would have been to destroy the person who suggested such a stupid idea, not trust them.

Much to his surprise, Yukio just shrugged, “Alright. I’ll leave brother in your hands then, good night” he said, handing a key with a fluffy pink key chain attached to it, to Emil. Then he grabbed the Sundanese-looking guy, Zander, and headed for the exit with a skip in his step and a bright smile on his face.

Lorcan exchanged a glance with Emil, who just offered him a helpless shrug and dangled the fluffy pink key chain at him with a pointed look.


	93. Morning After I

Yuliang inhaled the spicy scent of cinnamon and the natural musk of an alpha Lycan deeply, and tightened his hold of the warm body beside him, burying his face into firm pectorals.

Awareness and sobriety gradually seeped into his consciousness and Yuliang pulled back from the warm body to take account of this unfamiliar situation with a reluctant sigh.

The memories of the night were a bit of a blur with how intoxicated he had been, but Yuliang remembered enough of the situation to know that he had been the catalyst of this situation.

Yuliang bit back a groan of embarrassment, cautious of waking the man beside him and slowly pulled away from his grip incrementally. Ignoring every cell in his body that demanded him to stay.

Fucking hell.

Meeting his Imprint, his biologically most compatible match, at a bar, was the last thing he had expected to happen.

Especially when he was leaving this city in another month. 

Fuck his life.


	94. Morning After II

A few hours after Yuliang had woken up, a well-rested Lorcan was seated on the kitchen island counter watching the omega make pancakes.

The silence between them was heavy and uncomfortable.

Except for a brief exchange when Yuliang had tossed a spare toothbrush and a towel at him that morning, they hadn’t said a word to each other.

When the silence finally grew to be too much, Lorcan pulled out his phone with a quiet sigh and began reading and replying to all the messages he had missed. 

This was not how he had hoped things to go between them at all.


	95. Morning After III

The whole morning they spent together, they barely said a word to each other.

Yuliang could barely look the man in the eye after everything, and once the precedent of silence had been set, it was almost impossible to end it.

Fuck, Yuliang had never felt so awkward in his life. This was coming from someone that sometimes had to see people’s privates for a living.

Breakfast was taken in silence, and after that, they parted wordlessly as well. Though there was a second where it looked like Lorcan had been about to finally say something.

Not that it mattered in the end, since he didn’t.

Now Yuliang was alone in his apartment, laying on the couch, staring up blankly at the ceiling, wondering why the fuck he was so fucking awkward.


	96. Discussions I

Eric sighed, pushing their finished dinner away and dragging Yuliang to the couch for a long-overdue bonding session.

He scented his fellow omega deeply, burying his face into the crook of Yuliang's neck and letting the sweet and sour notes of citrus soothe the stress and anxiety that had been plaguing him for the last week or so.

Yuliang no longer stiffened up when they did this, merely melting into the touch and purring in contentment and satisfaction.

Eric figured, from the things he had pieced together from the rare moments Yuliang spoke of his past and the details Yukio had been kind enough to fill in during their conversations, physical contact like this was something Yuliang rarely allowed himself to enjoy.

Mostly due to how busy Yuliang was, but also because he apparently didn't feel safe being vulnerable with anyone, brother included.

Eric on the other hand had grown up in a big family, where scenting and bonding with each other was commonplace. Hence Eric's forwardness with sharing such an act so liberally with other omegas who he felt comfortable around.

With an understanding of Yuliang's circumstances, Eric felt amazed and grateful that Yuliang had allowed Eric to indulge in such moments many times over the months that they had known each other, despite Yuliang's reservations about it.

Moments of comfort that soothed Eric's protective and maternal instincts that went haywire when Eric was stressed.

They enjoyed the silence and each other for a long time before Eric finally worked up the courage to bring up what had been bothering him.

"Yuliang, we need to talk." 


	97. Discussions II

Yuliang knew something had been bothering his friend since their first visit to the Rydel’s and had been waiting for Eric to confront him about it for a while now. 

He braced himself for the worst. 

Far too used to that specific combination of words preceding bad news.

“Yeah, I figured. What’s been bothering you Eric?” he asked.

“I just need to know, what’s your plan for the future, Yuliang. What’s your plan for...us? Me, Elys, our Pack. How is this going to work out? You’re just… so you and you have the responsibility of three people now and… I don’t want to sound like I don’t trust you, but what do you have in mind for us?” Eric’s face looked increasingly distressed as he rambled. His emotions were even strong enough to seep into his scent, souring it.

“As our leader, what’s your vision for our Pack, Yuliang?” Eric asked, voice, barely above a whisper.

Yuliang sighed, stroking his hand through the short locks of Eric’s hair, “I don't exactly have one,” he confessed. 

“So, you don’t know what you’re doing and you don’t have a plan,” Eric said, tone more scathing than probably intended, if the apologetic whimper directed his way afterwards was any indication.

Yuliang shook his head, “Not exactly. I don't know how a traditional Pack is meant to run. My granny's a normal human, so all she could tell us what she knew anecdotally. We didn't exactly have books lying around about things related to all this either. The Davos, our family, has always been very secretive about our bloodline. Word of mouth is how we pass down knowledge.” A bitter smile twisted on Yuliang's face, “So, obviously our education on such matters was... cut short.”

Eric’s face scrunched up in sympathy.

Yuliang accepted it with a shrug. 

Death was death, no amount of sympathy was going to change that.

“In terms of how things should function between us, while I don’t have a solid plan, I do have a rough idea of what we could do. My brother's staying here to finish the degree, but he'll be spending the summers in Mist Valley. I was thinking that you and Elys could also agree to a similar arrangement.”

Eric pulled back with a thoughtful and they both sat on the couch beside each other, as was appropriate for the discussion they were having.

“Do you need constant updates from us during the times we’ll be apart?”

Yuliang shrugged again, “I'm not particular about things like that. How you run your lives is up to you, I’m just back up in case things go south for anyone. If you need a safe space or help to hide a body-”

“What.”

“-or just someone to talk to, you'll have it. I trust you guys to take care of yourselves.” Yuliang reconsidered his words, “Well, except Elys. Honestly, who the fuck thought it was a good idea to let a 13 year old study with adults? ”

Eric laughed.

A relaxed, boisterous laugh that let Yuliang know that while this matter was far from resolved, at least he was heading in the right direction with it.


	98. Second Year Menaces VI

“You’ve been spending a lot of time with my family these days, Yuliang,” Seth said, once Yuliang returned to the Healing bay after being called out for a minor incident in the training arena.

He wasn’t too surprised by his presence. Seth was obnoxiously obstinate and continued to bother him from time to time, even after Yuliang had made it clear that he disliked him.

Yuliang shrugged, “I guess? Where’d your sidekicks go?”

Seth huffed, “They aren’t my babysitters. They have lives too.”

Could have fooled him.

Yuliang rarely ever saw Seth without his ever-present companions.

Probably seeing the doubt in Yuliang’s face, Seth sighed, “They’re out there, training.”

Yuliang slid into his seat and studied the older man for a long moment. 

For brothers, Elys, Seth and Lorcan had very distinct appearances.

Elys was in the middle of growing, but Yuliang doubted he would grow much taller than Second Lord Rydel, who was about 5’. He was petite, with blond hair and blue eyes with most of his mother’s elegant features, but his father’s strong nose.

Seth was suntanned, with dark curly hair and pale blue-almost grey eyes. Except for the hair colour, he looked nothing like his father or brothers. He could only assume that it was due to inheriting his looks mostly from Lord Rydel’s first spouse. 

Lorcan, on the other hand, looked a lot like Lord Rydel. 

He looked like a younger version of his father, but he did have some distinct features of his own as well. Like the light smattering of freckles across the bridge of his nose and cheeks and the more downturned slope of his eyes. Though he had inherited the same dark curls, brown eyes, and possessed the same strong nose and jaw as Lord Rydel. 

Compared to his siblings, Lorcan probably came across as comparatively plain, but Yuliang had never really cared for looks, to begin with. His own or anyone else's and Lorcan was his Imprint. The man who his instincts recognized as his ideal match. As long as he proved to be a capable and decent mate, Yuliang had no qualms about marrying and bearing his children one day.

Yuliang felt the blood rush to his face.

To make matters worse he realized that while he had been occupied with his thoughts, he had been staring at Seth’s smug face the whole time, and if the smirk on the man’s face was any indication, Seth seemed to have come to his conclusions about it.

"I know I'm pretty, but if you stare at my face any longer, it'll probably catch on fire," Seth drawled with a wink.

Yuliang gritted his teeth, trying not to rise to the bait, “Why are you here, Seth? You aren’t usually the type to skip out on training.”

Seth laughed, “Wouldn’t have to be here if you didn’t run off like a fucking bitch, before I could talk to you after class. Seriously, Yuliang, what are you doing with my family?”

This man really fucking pissed him off.

“Fuck you. Only bitch here is you, Seth. Or did you forget how I beat your bitch ass last time? Either way, that’s an issue between me, Elys and your parents. All I’ll say is that it has nothing to do with you. Now fuck off, I’ve got work to do.”


	99. Dinner with the Rydels I

When he had received an invite to dinner that night from the Rydels, Yuliang had been pleasantly surprised.

He ignored the traitorous part of him that leaped at the thought of possibly running into Lorcan there and focused on the matter of Elys and his fate as one of his Pack members instead.

Unfortunately, as all the other dinners had been, there was not a single hint of the second son’s presence. What they got instead was Seth and on a much brighter note, Elys, joining them for dinner this time.

Yuliang wasn’t sure what exactly it meant for their negotiations, that Elys was being allowed to join them, but any progress was good progress.

In hindsight, Yuliang supposed, he could have resolved the situation with Seth earlier because it really made dinner at the Rydels a lot more uncomfortable than it had to be.

Especially with the almost palpable tension between Yukio and Seth and the ‘subtle’ eye contact they made over the table and the game of footsie they were playing under the table.

Yuliang was tempted to remind his brother of his status as a taken man, but he held himself back. His brother was a grown man capable of making his own decisions, he reminded himself.

Also, they were currently in a public setting.

Not the best place to display any signs of weakness in their relationship.

So, Yuliang ignored them and focused on his conversation with Lord Rydel about the country's frankly abysmal healthcare system instead.

“I know they try to keep the Healing and Medical fields as distinct as possible, but it’s so f…” Yuliang tried to hold back on swearing in front of the Second Lord, who always got a pinched expression on his face when he did, but it was a hard thing to do when he felt strongly about the topic. “It’s so stupid. They should at least make, learning the basics compulsory for all healthcare workers. Saving as many lives as possible is our f… It’s our duty and even having a little bit of skill in Healing could make the difference between life and death for someone.”

Lord Rydel nodded thoughtfully, “You make a good point, Yuliang. I will try looking into this matter. If I can build a cause, I’ll have it addressed in the next Council meeting.”

Ever since their last discussion, Yuliang found that Lord Rydel had mellowed out significantly and was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to talk to him.

“Have you heard about the mine that your Governor is planning on building in your region?”

Yuliang scowled, chewing the delicious pasta and meat dish thoughtfully. He took a sip of wine to wash it down before speaking, “I did. Having an opinion on it won’t make any difference so, I have to ignore it. So far it’s only in talks right?”

“It is still under discussion, yes.”

Yuliang took a bigger sip of his wine. “Then I hope that no one will come to an agreement and the idea ends up scrapped. We have too much land destroyed by these mines being built already. Next thing you know, our water supplies will be polluted and the entire region irreparably destroyed for corporate greed, just like what happened in the West.” A dark look entered Yuliang’s eyes.

The knock-on effect of these mines had destroyed a lot more than the region.

It had been what had destroyed his family as well.


	100. Dinner with the Rydels II

After dinner, Elys practically tackled Yuliang with the force behind his hug.

“I missed you, Yuliang,” Elys whined looking up at him with big blue eyes.

“Elys! Is this how a proper omega should behave?” The Second Lord scolded in the background, with more exasperation than heat behind his words.

The teen ignored his parents and excitedly grabbed Yuliang’s hands and dragged him out of the dining room.

Yuliang rolled his eyes, “Yeah, yeah, missed you too squirt.”

“You say that, but I bet I’ll be taller than you in a few years,” the blond said, looking up at him smugly, though the bright flush on his cheeks lessened its effectiveness.

Yuliang snorted, shaking his head fondly, “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“Well, let’s make it a bet. If I win, I inherit your Healer’s robe.”

What Elys didn’t know was that ‘inheriting a Healer’s robe’, was a euphemism for meant becoming a Healer’s apprentice.

Yuliang was aware that Elys was speaking about his robes in more literal terms, but no fucking way was he parting with the physical representation of his efforts for something as silly as a bet.

Yuliang laughed, “Sure, why not. And if you’re wrong? What will I get?”

“Well, you get to keep your robe,” Elys said, as he dragged Yuliang into a large rose coloured bedroom with a canopy bed, massive walk-in closet and other luxury furnishings he couldn't imagine any other average thirteen year olds possessing.

“That doesn’t sound very fair, but you’re a kid, so I’ll be nice and let you have your way.”

Elys stuck his tongue out at him, too happy with a successful deal to make a bigger deal of the ‘kid’ comment.

“Hey Yuliang, there’s something I wanted to ask you about,” Elys said, sitting cross-legged across him on the massive king-sized bed, fidgeting with the hem of his skirt.

“Something related to classwork?”

Elys shook his head, “No. Nothing like that. Just that, there’s this thing called the Winter Solstice Ball coming up. AndIwashopingyou’dbemydateforit.”

Yuliang blinked. “What?”

Elys took a deep breath and spoke at a normal pace once more. “I was hoping that you would be my date for the Winter Solstice Ball. It’s my first time being old enough to bring a date for it, and I was hoping that as my Pack Leader you would be the one to accompany me.”

Elys looked like he was bracing himself for rejection, but he still looked at Yuliang with so much hope that his immediate ‘no’ got trapped in his throat.

He twisted the end of his braid in his hands, and averted his eyes, “Uh. This is during the holidays?”

“Yes. On the 20th night.”

Yuliang sighed, “Am I expected to wear formal clothes? 'Cuz, I don't have any. I can barely afford a shirt let alone something nice to wear for a... ball.”

Elys grabbed his hands, and looked up at him with a pleading look, “You don’t have to worry about any of it. I’ve already discussed it with my mother and father. We’ll take care of everything. All you have to do is to be there with us for fittings and on the 20th to get dressed for the event itself. Please, Yuliang? I don’t want to go there without you. I hate everyone in Society. The omegas and girls there always pick on me when I’m alone and I thought that if you came with me, it could actually be fun to go for once. Please, Yuliang?”

After a long internal battle, Yuliang sighed and gave the smaller pair of hands in his grip a reassuring squeeze. “Yeah alright, sure. If your folks are really okay with it, I guess it should be fine for me to come.”

Elys gasped, “Really? You’ll actually come? You’ll be there with me?”

Yuliang rolled his eyes, “Yeah. Sure. Relax, squirt. You’re going to catch flies if you keep your mouth open like that.”

He’d only just managed to get into good terms with the Rydels. This would probably be a good opportunity to further establish their good relations. Prove how much he cares for his youngest Pack member and show them how far out of his comfort zone he is willing to go for Elys.


	101. Midnight Phone Call II

Yuliang had been in the middle of having a very pleasant dream that escaped him the moment he was snapped awake by the sound of his phone buzzing.

He growled in annoyance.

“Do you what fucking time it is, Mina?”

There was a giggle on the other side, “Oh whoops. Sorry, did I wake you up?”

“It’s 3 in the fucking morning! Of fucking course you did!” he hissed, pushing his hair out of his face and rubbing at the bridge of this nose. “Do you not fucking sleep woman?”

Mina outright laughed, one bordering on hysterical, “What sane medical student sleeps during exam season? Seriously though, I called you for a reason.”

Yuliang sighed, tugging at a tangle in his hair, eyes already drooping from exhaustion, “Yeah? What is it this time?”

“Well, I was messing around on the Net and scrolling through my Social feed-”

“I thought you said it was exam season, Mina. You’re making it sound like you did everything but study.”

“-Ouch. Don’t call me out like that. You can hardly expect me to be able to study this late-”

“Or stay up. Say your piece and go to fucking sleep.”

“But, mom,” the woman whined. 

Yuliang rolled his eyes, “I’m serious Mina. Say your shit and fuck off. Even if you can’t sleep, I can. If I’m going to deal with the second year Enforcer assholes tomorrow morning, I'm going to need more than 2 fucking hours of sleep.” 

Mina made a sympathetic noise on the other end, well familiar with what Yuliang dealt with by now. “Alright, alright. I was just going to say that you’re kind of going viral on the Social right now.”

Yuliang groaned, “Why? I didn’t even do anything this time. Did I?”

“Well… there's a recent clip of you yelling at some lady who said some pretty rude things to you. Are you okay by the way? That whole situation looks terrifying to be in. Did they hurt you?” 

Yuliang felt his entire body tense at the memory; no air, no escape, no space. 

He grits his teeth and shakes his head, “I’m fine. It was just unexpected. Is that sort of thing likely to happen again?”

There was a long silence on the other end before Mina finally said, “From the way people are talking about you right now, especially from what I've heard on campus and the streets. Yeah, probably.” 

Fuck. 

His. 

Life. 


	102. Bad Day

Emil was in a foul mood and it had started with an unpleasant conversation with Feliks. His younger brother had been getting quite big-headed lately due to Emil having allowed him to extend his influence freely in the university. A mistake on his part, as Feliks seemed to think his generosity as Emil throwing in the towel and letting his little brother walk all over him.

Emil didn't usually make a habit of bringing people, especially members of his family, to heel, but this time he had enjoyed doing so with a vengeance.

He couldn't possibly let his brother think he had a chance of taking over Emil's position as heir, now could he.

Emil was quite used to being underestimated due to his chosen profession, but he didn't think that his younger brother would be stupid enough to fall into the same trap as well.

Followed by that unfortunate meeting, was his even more unfortunate meeting with Yuliang Davos.

He had extended his invitation to the younger man to join him at the ball, only to be turned down. His mentor-brother had already agreed to be the youngest Rydel's date to the ball.

Now he was seated in his office fuming at how things had turned out.

His brother had challenged his authority today, damaging whatever good relationship they had been maintaining these days.

He had agreed to go to the fucking Solstice ball and was now dateless.

He realized that Yuliang Davos was now under the Rydel family's influence and well out of the Belmont family's reach. His possibly being Lorcan's Imprint only further complicated it.

A battle had been lost before he could even fight it.

Emil wished it was the weekend again.

He could do with a strong drink right now.


	103. Last Day of Class I

It was the last day of the semester and the start of the Solstice holidays. 

Yuliang watched his students filter out of the classroom with a tight feeling in his chest.

He hadn’t lost sight of his goals or suddenly fallen in love with teaching, but with all the nights he had stayed up marking assessments, making lesson plans and replying to inquiries from his students, Yuliang had come to appreciate the structure and purpose his role as an instructor provided his life.

He was drawn away from his inner melancholy by a large neatly wrapped box being placed on his desk.

“It isn’t much, but my family sent over a lot of Kulonian sweets for the holidays. I hope you enjoy them,” Lilou said, offering him a shy smile.

Yuliang accepted it with a grateful tilt of his head, “Thank you.”

She shook her head and bowed deeply, “I have learned a lot under your guidance, thank you for your time and dedication.”

Yuliang stood to return the bow with a rare smile on his face. “Not at all. You were an excellent student and I learned just as much from you.”


	104. Last Day of Class II

Elys watched the exchange between Lilou and Yuliang from his desk with a frown.

It hadn’t occurred to him to buy something for Yuliang for his last day of class at all.

Now he missed his chance to increase his positive standing in the older omega’s eyes.

Elys tried consoling himself. 

At least he was the one that will actually spend time with Yuliang over the holidays and he was the one that was Claimed by Yuling. Stupid Lilou, would probably never even see Yuliang again.

He never understood why Yuliang even wasted a second on that quiet nobody in the first place.

Yuliang always gave her more attention than he did anyone else, except Elys of course, in the class.

She wasn’t really pretty or exceptionally intelligent and her Healing skills were mediocre at best. Even that stupid creep Carlton, who Elys couldn’t believe was still in his class after what he tried to do to Yuliang, was a better Healer than her.

She was nothing worth Yuliang smiling for!

She was nothing!

Elys was fuming as he glared at the back of Lilou Walker’s stupid two-bunned head.

Elys would give Yuliang got a box of Medinian sweets double the size of the stupid box Lilou walker gave him. He’d also give Yuliang the most amazing, most unforgettable Solstice gift ever on top of that as well!

Stupid Lilou.

Yuliang was his, damn it!


	105. Last Day of Class III

On his way back to his apartment, after escorting a weirdly moody Elys to his car, Yuliang received a call from Eric

“Hey, Yuliang. Where are you right now?”

“I’m on my way back from class.” 

“Do you have anything planned for tonight?” 

“Unless you count sleeping, not really.”

Eric laughed, “I was thinking of going out to celebrate tonight with a few other people, you want to join?”

Yuliang frowned and looked up at the bathed in orange and pink hues of the sunset.

“How many exactly is a ‘few other people’?” 

“Including me, probably five. We were thinking of hitting one of the clubs Downtown.” 

Yuliang grimaced, mouth opening and closing uselessly. He desperately wanted to refuse, but his instinctual desire to strengthen the bond with his new packmate overrode his aversion to unfamiliar situations. The claim was still too fresh for his base instincts to settle and mellow out and merge with his rational thoughts.

“I’ve never been to a club before,” he said instead.

“Well, that settles it. You’re definitely coming tonight. Be prepared to discover a whole new world, Yuliang.” The noise that followed could only be classified as a squeal. One loud enough to make Yuliang's sensitive ears ring in discomfort. “I can't wait! We’re going to have so much fun tonight!”


	106. Last Day of Class IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, it's been a while. Sorry for the long wait. Had a lot of stuff going on in RL that kept me busy. Hope everyone had a good 2021so far.   
> ~AD

While Yuliang hadn't personally stepped foot into a club, Yukio was a frequent visitor. So Yuliang did have a rough idea of what he was getting into and knew he wouldn't like it. 

Inspecting his reflection in his room's mirror, Yuliang decided that he didn't feel like wearing a braid anymore. So he unravelled it and tied his hair up in a loose ponytail at the nape of his neck. A few loose strands of his hair blew into his face, but Yuliang wasn't too fussy. He just grabbed two bobby pins and used them to pin back the more annoying strands. 

Besides taking off his Healer's robe, Yuliang didn't bother to change from that day's outfit. An argyle patterned black, white, and purple sweater, grey sweatpants, and a pair of worn-out sneakers that he wore everywhere. He just neatened it up a bit by smoothing out the creases. 

He grabbed the black parka off his coat rack beside the door and slid it on with care.

It was probably the most expensive item he owned—a gift from granny for his sixteenth birthday.

Mist Valley might be a town in Sundan, a region known for its hot weather, but it was located on the regional border, deep in the mountains, so temperatures there did tend to drop below freezing. 

Scanning his dorm to see if there was anything out of place or anything he had forgotten, Yuliang covered his face with the surgical mask he had now gotten used to wearing before he pulled up his hood. Then grabbed his keys and wallet from the coffee table and sent a short text to Eric before double-locking the door behind him and heading out. 


	107. Last Day of Class V

Eric looked stunning, dressed in tight black jeans and a crop top which he paired with lace-up ankle boots with a small heel and a full face of makeup. His short hair was pushed back from his face and artfully mussed. The winged eyeliner highlighted the slant of his eyes and made his amber eyes appear particularly striking. He wore a pair of diamond studs on his ears which Yuliang could have sworn weren't pierced before.

Noticing his curious gaze, Eric laughed, "They're clip-on. My mom would kill me if I got my ears pierced."

"Oh, cool. You look great, by the way," Yuliang said sincerely. He didn't just mean visually. It hadn't even been too long since the semester had ended, but Yuliang could practically feel the difference in Eric's Energy.

He just looked so much happier.

Eric beamed, "Thank you. And you look..." he trailed off, taking in Yuliang's drab appearance. "The same. Yuliang, what are you wearing?"

Yuliang frowned, stuffing his hands into his pockets, "Clothes? What's wrong with it?"

Eric released a deep sigh and shook his head. "Darling, I know you said that you've never been to a club before, but I thought you'd at least know this much. You do not go to the club dressed like you're homeless. Come here. Let me see if there's something I can do to save this situation."


	108. Last Day of Class VI

Yuliang scowled at his reflection as Eric stood back with his hands on his hips and watched him with a satisfied smile. 

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting for a chance to dress you up."

Yuliang's scowl deepened. "I think I can." 

Yuliang had been quite surprised when Eric just somehow seemed to have an outfit and shoes in exactly Yuliang's size. He had initially dismissed his suspicions, but Eric's statement implied that this was practically premeditated!

He shifted uncomfortably in the clothing, a deep burgundy sleeveless turtleneck and a pair of black jeans, which were a lot snugger than he was used to wearing. The shoes were a pair of boots identical to Erics. 

Eric hadn't stopped there. He had even taken the time to brush out Yuliang's long hair until it was sleek and straight and tied it up in a high ponytail. A style that Yuliang usually avoided due to the strain on his scalp. 

He finished it off with a small gold chain that he clasped around Yuliang's neck. 

"You look beautiful, Yuli." 

Yuliang rolled his eyes. "Thanks. Can we go now? Won't your friends be upset if we make them wait?" 

Eric laughed. "Relax. We're meant to meet them in another fifteen minutes. I just like to be a bit early. You sure you don't want me to apply some light makeup on you?" 

Yuliang grimaced, "No, thank you. Let's just go." 


	109. Last Day of Class VII

The 'couple of other people' who joined them were their fellow intern Clare and a few other interns. Yuliang was introduced to them individually by Eric.

"Yuliang, this is Ahmed Khan. He's currently interning under Healer Branson," Eric said, pointing to the red-haired, Sundanese-looking young man with thick black-framed glasses and a slightly crooked nose that looked like a remnant from past breakage.

They exchanged curt nods in acknowledgement.

The petite girl beside him had short bright blue hair pinned back from her face, wide blue eyes that were practically sparkling and a very flushed face when Eric introduced them. "This is Mila Colins; she works under Healer Yukimura."

"Oh my gosh. It's an absolute honour to meet you, Healer Davos!" Mila gushed, grabbing his hand with both hers and shaking it excitedly. "I'm a huge fan of your work!"

Yuliang stared at her blankly and slowly extracted his hands from her clammy grip. "Thanks," he offered, uncertainly, glancing at Eric.

Eric laughed and quietly speaking under his breath, only for Yuliang to pick up on, "Mila has a massive nerd crush on you. Don't worry too much about it. Just accept it with a smile."

Yuliang grimaced.

"I'm Linden Sanchez," the third intern said, taking the initiative to offer his hand. Linden was a plain-looking short male with wild curly brown hair, tan skin, and striking red eyes framed by a pair of large wire-rimmed glasses. He looked quite friendly with a grin that showed a row of shiny white teeth with a slight tooth gap in the middle. "I'm an Enforcer interning under Professor Schmidt."

Yuliang found him to have a calming presence about him and couldn't help offering the young man a small smile as he shook his hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Great. And you already know Clare. So now that introductions are out of the way, why don't we get going. I don't want to have to wait in line for the whole night," Eric said, placing a casual arm around Yuliang's shoulders and pulling him along and away from Linden to get them moving.


	110. Nightclub I

The line to the club was long enough to wrap around the block. Mostly due to not just UMed students, but the neighbouring high school students as well, who had the same idea as Eric. 

Yuliang doubled checked the secureness of his mask using his phone camera. 

Eric reached down to squeeze Yuliang's cold clammy hand comfortingly, "Don't worry, Yuliang. I came prepared." 

Eric pulled out his phone and pulled up something on the screen. Then he led them down to the much shorter VIP line. 

"Damn, Eric. You have a VIP pass to Ambrose? I thought it was practically impossible for commoners to get that," Linden whispered as the pass was scanned and they were ushered in through the dimly lit entrance. 

Eric laughed, "It is. I was just lucky enough to have a few connections that hooked me up with one."

"Oh, wow. Can you try hooking me up with one too?"

Yuliang ignored the chatter beside him, trying to will down the weird sense of dread that had been building within himself the entire evening. 

He usually did not ignore his instincts, and was more than ready to call it quits and head back right then, but it only took one look at Eric's excited face as he spoke to the other interns to have Yuliang biting back his words. 

He exhaled deeply through his nose, shifting uncomfortably in his new clothing and stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets. He followed the group with the deep frown on his face obscured by the mask he wore, feeling much like a mouse walking right into a cheese trap. 


End file.
